The End of Times
by Devilish Kurumi
Summary: “So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just, And shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.” [Character Death, Mutilation, Gore, Squick.]
1. We All Fall Down

**The Only Author's Note:** This will most likely be the only author's note I put in this fic, unless I really feel that a chapter needs explaining. Which it shouldn't. This story is a byproduct of... I don't know. I honestly, honestly don't know what compelled me to write this story.

**This is the only chapter written like this - the rest are more traditional. Please read beyond the first chapter to get a feel for the story.**

**The Warnings:** There is Character Death. There is Graphic Violence. There is Squick. There is Character Mutilation (not OOC, but actual, physical mutilation). There is irreparable damage to more than one character, mentally and physically. **Your favorite character may not be alive during this fic, and if they are, they might not live forever**. There will be stuff that might upset someone. Do not read this fic if you can't handle those. I might be over-exaggerating the amount of horrible stuff this fic has, but hey, better safe than sorry.

**Disclaimer(s):** Squaresoft owns Final Fantasy IX and all related trademarks, characters, etc. Despite what you might read in this fic (and for that matter, any fic I write), I love every _single_ character in Final Fantasy IX. I don't think there's a character I don't like. Don't think that this fic is a character-bashing one – it simply is what it is. There are no ulterior motives.

**

* * *

**

"And I am not frightened of dying, any time will do, I  
don't mind. Why should I be frightened of dying?  
There's no reason for it, you've gotta go sometime.  
_If you can hear this whispering you are dying._  
I never said I was frightened of dying."  
_**-Pink Floyd, "The Great Gig In The Sky"**

* * *

_

Somehow, they survive. He figures they're just like cockroaches, in a blind moment of pure pain ignored by steady thoughts.

No one had expected the blasts. Hell, how could they? No one had thought that, after all that had happened four years ago, anything on that level could be repeated. The three mighty kingdoms of the Mist Continent stayed very closely in touch and no one was planning any ill towards anyone else. And even if they had been – they would need another Kuja to create the kind of chaos, destruction, and violence that had transpired.

It's hard to breathe, but he knows the feeling of smoke in his lungs and he knows how to breathe in all sorts of conditions because that's what cockroaches do. He can't feel his legs but that's okay, they're there, he's sure of it. His head is a jumbled mess of pain and he feels something dripping on his hand, but it's not hot like blood and he doesn't know what in the hell it could possibly be –

He's been able to climb out of ruins for ages. That's what salamanders do, you know, they hide in the sand and they hide in the skinniest, tiniest spaces –

Everything, in the midst of smoke flame and blood, starts to fade around the edges and he forces himself into consciousness, dives headfirst because even if he can't hardly think with the pain or breathe with the smoke, he's got no right to curl up and die.

The blast had thrown them from the bar, which disintegrated before them in seconds, and he wonders why this is happening now.

There's screaming all around him, above him, and muffled below him, but he pushes on and grabs at boards over his head and pulls, searching half-blind for light and finally, _finally_ he climbs out of the hole and allows himself to lay facedown on the busted up porch of what was once the Treno inn but is now just a hole in the ground with screams protruding from it like jagged spikes.

His head aches so he puts a hand to it and it comes away bloody, and another feel yields a clump of red hair – oh _god_, his hair is falling out.

No, it's just one dreadlock, there's no need to get panicky.

Dry heaving and gasping, she grasps at him and tries to roll him over, telling him not to be dead, please, because that would just be stupid. He tries to say that he's fine, well and alive and in severe pain, but all that comes out is a hacking, hoarse, throaty cough. She exclaims in relief you're alive, and manages to get him on his side, only to draw back in absolute repulsion.

He asks what, and she replies your eye, your _eye_ Red.

He tries not to fall into unconsciousness as he realizes what he has all over his hands is his

* * *

One of the first things he realizes after the momentary lapse of unconsciousness is that he can't feel his arm. He can't move, and there's shouting around him – a scream, a thud, and silence – and the crackling of flames echoes in his ears. He can't breathe, but he can't die yet, not until he finds her – 

But he _can't move_. He realizes quickly that he is trapped, but how does one get out from under the heavy bookcase that his wife had insisted they needed in their private quarters? The marble floor beneath him cracks and he sees now that if he doesn't move, he will fall through the ground.

There had been no time to react at first. There had been no Alexander to save them, this time; there was only a blast, unconsciousness, then pain and numbness all wrapped into one.

She shouts for him so he responds and doesn't recognize his voice, dry and thick and too deep from the smoke. She comes to him, parts fire with her sword – how she does it is her business alone – and kneels by him, tells him not to move too much, and that it's okay, there's still plenty he can do, as long as they can live through this.

He tells her to stop talking in circles and to help him up, and tries to give her a hand to grab when he realizes she's not talking in circles, she's just avoiding one word, the one word that will tell him why he can't feel his arm.

She pulls him to his feet and pain lances through his back, but he doesn't tell her, because she's staring at him with her hair all burnt and torn off, and he tells her it's a good look for her. She asks him when he started hanging around the king and then hears the cracking marble beneath their feet, so she moves him off the thin ice and onto stable ground.

The walls had been broken from the outside, and he can see out into the town but there's not really a town left, just debris. They look up together as one and see the King of Dragons above them, mouth full of yellow red orange fire and wings outstretched just like that night –

There's a strangled scream and the King of Dragons turns away, flies towards the south as the castle begins to crash down around them. He shouts and tells her they must find the queen, and she says they must find the queen, but they must also be careful for themselves, and here. She takes off her robe and tears off the arms, pulls them around his elbow and ties them tight, staunching blood and keeping him from growing too pale. Don't exert yourself, she tells him.

He promises her he won't and they go looking.

They find her in a cubbyhole created by two stone walls and she cries out, I can't see him where is he, but he finds the King of Thieves laying face down and doesn't need to look long to see that he's not there. He doesn't tell the queen and simply reaches in and feels along wall for her hand, and she takes it and says please don't let this be happening, but what can he do to change it?

She stands shakily in a torn up dress that's indecently short and stares straight ahead, over his shoulder and past the King of Thieves and she says I'm blind, I'm blind.

* * *

The force of the water hadn't killed her. 

She knows not to breathe and kicks her legs as hard as she can but it's so _hard_ to get up to the top, it's so _hard_ because unlike everyone else she isn't just floating on top of the water now, she's alive. Books float around her with ink falling away from the pages, and bodies float upside-down and sideways from her, trapped under heavy furniture, caught on wall hangings, and she forces her eyes upwards; this is _no time_ to mourn, no time at all!

She pushes up through the market and her claws dig into wooden carts – she pulls herself up and pierces the water, floundering and grabbing at barrels, hoisting herself up and sitting on top of it, panting for breath and straddling the barrel carefully.

Wet fur is everywhere. Cold and slick and just utterly gross looking, even by her own standards... She takes stock of her own injuries and ignores the body of one of the maids of the king's house.

Her tail is bruised, and her legs are burning, but other than that and a few cuts, she's relatively physically fine.

She closes her eyes and ignores the wet fur and tries to think where _he_ is, because as long as he's alright... Her eyes open skyward and she sees a fresh wave coming towards her. She stares because how in the _hell_ can waves reach over the mountains, but there it is – a flash of blue and the serpentine figure of

Water rushes down upon her like rain and she wonders if heaven is wet.

* * *

Treno is in horrible condition. 

There's only a few people who seem to have survived and he wonders, vaguely, if he's one of them. She stands before him and kind of kneels and doesn't tell him what she's doing – he trusts her, completely and utterly – and she calls out, "Is there a healer around here, my friend needs help," and people hoarsely call back that they _all_ need help, wait your goddamned turn. She looks at him and he doesn't shake his head even though he wants to.

"Do it yourself," he says because feeling's coming back into his face and he knows it's going to _hurt_.

"I can't – the wound needs to be cleaned, I can't just-"

A woman drags herself over to them with one leg broken in the wrong direction, and reaches out a hand, saying pull it out, I can heal it shut.

He looks at the woman with his one eye and then looks back and says, "Do it," so she reaches and pulls gently, and now all sorts of grainy black falls from his face and he screams hoarsely even as the woman casts a cure and the wound instantly stops hurting, starts healing, as if all sorts of years have passes, and the two women look at the empty socket, empty completely and utterly, and the healer says, "I can't do any more" before falling over and not getting up.

He looks to her and asks why someone would do that for him, but she doesn't answer, looking up at the sky and pointing, eyes wide and voice hoarse as she says, "We're in Lindblum it's just like Lindblum."

There's a huge hole in the sky, rimmed with sharp teeth, and a sudden blast from behind them knocks them into the sky, towards the hole –

He knows he can handle impacts well so he grabs her and holds her close, ignoring her frantic shouting and they land on the ground with a heavy, cracking thud. He gasps for air and she screams, pulling away and holding her nose with a hand, mumbling out that he should be more careful, he broke her nose –

Another blast close by knocks them around and he sees the King of Dragons above them, the hole now gone, and realizes it's _targeting them_

She goes limp and he picks her up, struggles to his feet and manages to make it out the gates into the night before the King of Dragons breathes fire onto the whole of Treno. He makes it to the forest unseen and puts her down on the ground, looking around for something to hide them under or in, but there's nothing.

A burst of light, warm and nonthreatening, echoes through the forest and an old man, tall and stern, stands before him in a robe the color of lightning. He falls back into a fighting position but the old man simple nods to him, so he relaxes. He asks, why are you doing this?

"I am doing nothing."

Why are _they_ doing this?

"That is not for you to know."

Who... who's dead?

Here, the old man doesn't respond, but looks to the woman and shakes his head. "She will not be able to hear anything when she wakes up."

He falls back into his previous stance and growls that the old geezer better make her able to hear.

The old man laughs, terribly, and says that he hasn't the ability, but it's only temporary, don't worry, she's not alone.

"That is why I am here. My master needs assistance that, as it is now, cannot be given by those closest to her."

How come you can't just do it yourself, old man?

"Because they will not trust me. It will not take long to get there."

The Gargan Roo is destroyed, they can't make it to Alexandria fast enough – and the old man tells them he will take them there but only if he agrees.

"Not without her agreement," he says, so the old man simply stands and says that he can wait, she will be awake soon.

"Why is this happening?" he asks, "I have a right to know."

The old man laughs again, violently, and says, "You are young and not used to true injury. Your state is not a medal to show, or a pass to knowledge. Only one person may know from my lips and you are being stubborn as to seeing her."

She groans softly and sits up, running her hands over her head in an idle attempt to make sure it's still there, and then asks, "What happened?" before frowning and looking at the old man in confusion – which turns into dawning realization and then something alien: fear.

"Do not worry," the old man tells her, "Everything will be fine for you."

You said she would be deaf, he growls, and the old man agrees that he did. He, however, has a voice that transcends such obstacles, and he looks at the woman at his feet and tells her what is happening.

She looks between the two and then nods in agreement, says quietly I want to get out of here, and so he agrees as well.

* * *

There are very few people still alive in Alexandria. 

He and his wife help the queen from the wreckage of their once grand castle, all the time trying to keep her from losing balance, from falling down and sobbing, and all she says is why is this happening, why is this happening.

He can't carry her because one needs two arms to do such a thing, but he tells her to lean most of her weight on him, and saves his wife the trouble. She whispers hoarsely and asks for the King of Thieves, and the two with sight exchange looks over the one without.

He cannot come with us, he says, and she breaks out into new sobs, and they find a place that looks relatively stable – a home that has been only partially burnt down, due to being built with bricks (someone had been smart, after the first attacks). They put her down and his wife looks to him for a moment before saying, "Your Majesty, this is a hard time, but we must act quickly. Do you have any strength in you? We must heal his arm, before..."

What's wrong with his arm she asks.

"It..."

I need to know what's wrong with it, she says dully, I can do nothing without knowledge.

"It is gone, your Majesty," he tells the queen.

She makes a strangled noise and reaches to him, so he holds out his hand and she takes it, says no, no, I'm so sorry.

It isn't her fault, he says, and so she reaches out both hands now and closes her blank eyes and his arm stops hurting so much, now it's just a dull throb, and the bleeding stops.

"Thank you, your Majesty," he whispers because he can't find the strength to speak properly.

Bahamut, she sobs quietly, why would he why would he-

"Shh," his wife says now, quiet and soft, and she pulls the young queen into her arms, telling her not to worry. They will find out what is going on, they will deal with who is responsible, they will not let this stop them forever.

He can't help but think they have already allowed it to do so.

Heavy footsteps come from the opening of the house and through the smoke from houses around them a large shape appears, seeming to materialize out of thin air and the two bounty hunters – one he knows and one he met once – come into view. She is leaning against him and they are supporting each other, the way his wife and his queen are now.

Where have you come from, he asks.

Treno, the bounty hunter says, holding the huntress carefully, looking around with one eye closed. It's just as bad as here. It's worse there. He then asks, where is Zidane?

The queen breaks out into fresh cries and tilts her head in against his wife's neck, and the hunter's eyes widen – allowing a brief flash of empty socket – before he regains his stoic demeanor.

We need to rest, they decide, and the hunter and huntress carefully sit across the hall from the royal guard.

The two men look at each other and silently share grief and regret, each looking to the other's wounds, and then the hunter pulls the huntress close and he himself puts his arm over his queen and tells her all will be fine.

* * *

It's about midnight when Amarant realizes he's awake again. 

Lani is sleeping against him and he doesn't feel like waking her up and returning her to this shithole they're currently occupying, so he instead turns his attention to the royal guards across the hallway.

The General has her arms around Garnet – even after all these years he still wants to call her _Dagger_ for some stupid reason – and the Knight has his arm over their shoulders, looking a lot different than he's used to seeing the other – he's wearing cotton sleepwear, just like the General and the queen. His head is slumped against his chest and his breathing is shallow, like a man who is trying to fall asleep but is kept up by nightmares.

"You awake?" Amarant rasps quietly, earning a small nod from the knight, who tilts his head back up against the wall and looks at the hunter dully.

"What happened in Treno?" Steiner asks, and Amarant looks to the sky above, visible through the collapsed roof.

"...I don't know. We were drinking – thought for a second maybe I had just passed out – but then there were explosions, and..." He lifts his free hand and waves it over his empty eye socket, "This."

Steiner looks to Lani, and asks, "And her?"

"...Her nose is broken," he mumbles, "...And she's deaf. For now – it's only temporary."

"I do not wish to... undermine morale, but..."

Amarant cuts the knight off with a quiet, "I'm not hoping, I _know_," and then asks, "What about you?"

"...Bahamut."

Amarant nods because he has seen the damage the King of Dragons can do, and asks, "What about Zidane?" in a hoarse voice.

"...When we found him," Steiner mutters, "He was already..." He waves a hand, not wanting to finalize the statement, so Amarant does it for him.

"Dead."

The knight winces slightly because for all their bickering, he didn't actually mind Zidane so much, later on in their journey. He wasn't so bad. Hadn't been.

Past tense hurts him.

"What about her?" the hunter asks, nodding to Garnet.

"...She...She was – was blinded from one of the blasts."

Amarant goes very quiet – not even breathing heavily enough to make noise – and watches the queen for a long time. Her head is on Beatrix's shoulder and her arms are curled between her and the General, and Steiner looks at them too.

"Blow to the head," Amarant says suddenly, quietly. "She got hit on the head by something heavy. It might just be temporary."

"How do you know?"

"She's got a lump on the back of her head, you fool."

Steiner goes quiet now, himself, and looks at his wife in remorse.

"...When they wake up," Amarant says dully, ignoring most of the feeling that's coming back to him, "We should leave. It's not safe in a town."

"But we must help the survivors!"

"...What survivors?"

The knight looks at the sky and says, "We will let her Majesty decide."

The hunter, surprisingly, doesn't fight this decision but nods, looking at Lani.

"...Why is this happening?" Amarant asks quietly, reaching his hand around Lani to push away thick locks of hair that have fallen in her face. "Did we do something to upset the Eidolons?"

"We don't know," Steiner responds, "And we will not know until the queen can think."

The huntress shifts and her eyes open slightly; she looks to the hunter and asks in a muffled, weak voice, "What's going on?"

He waves a hand and shakes his head, mouthing that it's nothing. She nods and puts her head down against her chest, eyes closing and breathing steadying.

"I didn't think that you were involved with her," Steiner mumbles, closing his eyes and deciding to get some sleep.

"I'm not," Amarant responds, suddenly feeling very tired. "But that's how things go."

"We will figure out what to do once the Queen wakes."

And even though Amarant agrees, Steiner can't help but think that the other male knows the decision already.


	2. Lightning Round

Lani isn't one of those women who thinks she knows everything. She knows a lot, but not everything – and she hasn't been _through_ everything, either.

But she _does_ know that when stress is high, people can get a little... snippy.

Amarant is getting a little snippy.

She can't hear a damned thing, but that doesn't mean her eyes are like the queen's. She can see that he's angry over something. The fact that they've uncovered five bodies, seven limbs, and a whole mess of red splatters on the ground might play a part.

She follows him along, over heavy pieces of plaster and brick, and melted iron from the forge, all bright and hot in the morning sun. The heat is starting to get deeper into the debris, and she can smell – faintly for now – the bodies buried around them.

"We should just leave them here," she says, feeling her mouth move and her voice vibrate in her throat, but not hearing it. That throws her off, but she knows how to adapt.

He looks up at her, as he crouches down on top of a pile of bricks, digging out a hand that barely registers itself as such, and shakes his head, mouthing something she can't quite understand. Probably "no, we're not doing that, stop being lazy," but it really could be any number of things.

She sighs and looks around, crossing her arms. It's strange, not hearing anything. It's as if the sound has suddenly been turned off – sounds she had taken for granted are now very obviously absent. She can't hear any birds (though she doesn't think there _are_ any), or the sounds of their feet on the rubble. She wonders if Amarant's digging because he can hear people calling for help, but she knows that there probably isn't anyone left to call.

She watches the skyline and tries to gauge how far away the damage hit. Did it reach the forests around Alexandria? Did it go _beyond_ Alexandria – did it hit Lindblum, or Burmecia? Has it hit the Outer Continent?

What did the Eidolons think they were doing, anyways?

A hand lands on her shoulder and she knows from the weight that it's Amarant, but she jumps a little anyways because she's not used to not hearing him. She looks to him curiously, and so he points his thumb backwards.

The queen and general are standing at the foot of the pile of rubble they're now standing on top of – the general is looking up at them with slight anxiousness, while the queen looks... muffled. Dull – empty. Lani can't think of the proper word.

They make their way down the hill and Amarant says something to the general – Beatrix, that's her name. Lani has trouble with names.

The woman responds, looking stiff and trying to hide emotions behind a mask. Lani's used to this kind of expression – she's seen it on hundreds of people before. Just... most of them pulled it off better.

Amarant shifts, crosses his arms, and the huntress _knows_ this pose – it's the one he unconsciously does whenever someone asks him something he doesn't want to answer – or isn't at liberty to answer.

She's no good at lip reading, but when the queen speaks suddenly, mouth moving slowly, she makes out "Treno," and "distance."

_Ah_. So _that's_ what this is about.

Amarant looks to Lani and waves a hand at the general and queen. Lani understands the movement, because it's not uncommon for the other to ask _her_ to explain. He's not good with words and she is, to some extent.

Her voice vibrates in her throat as she says, "Some old guy helped us out."

The queen stares between them and Beatrix frowns in confusion, saying something that she can't quite catch. The queen mouths another word, one Lani doesn't know at all, and Amarant shifts uncomfortably.

"You may tell them."

The words come from nowhere and Lani shrieks in surprise, spinning around and assuming a defensive position before realizing that it's just the old man. He's assumed a much less intimidating form, this time around; his beard is not quite as long, and his eyes are half-hidden by bushy eyebrows. He hunches over a cane and looks at the huntress for a moment, before turning his attention to the queen.

Garnet mouths something and drops to her knees, eyes widening and welling up again. Amarant and Beatrix both look defensive, suddenly, and Lani wonders why her companion is actually giving a shit whether or not the queen starts crying.

"I brought them here to help you, my master," the old man says, hobbling across the wreckage as if it were nothing and bending down slightly to pull Garnet's hands into his own. "I could not come to you in the state you were in last night. Forgive me."

The queen mumbles something Lani assumes is "apology accepted," and then says something else.

The old man gets to his knees, so he is eye-level with Garnet, and then says something solely to her – Lani can tell that neither Beatrix nor Amarant can hear it either, from their confused and apprehensive looks.

A moment of silence between all but the man and queen, and then Garnet begins to cry softly, pulling her hands from the old man's and covering her face with them. He leans in and touches her shoulder, and says something quietly still.

The queen wipes her tears away and her face is resolute. When she nods, the old man stands and looks to the other three.

"She is allowing me to tell you... seeing as that she still has to come to terms with it herself. The Eidolons have rebelled against their former master."

"No shit," Lani grumbles, but a look from Amarant silences her.

"They've done this not because of anything your queen has done, but because of the deterioration in command over them has reached it's limits. There is no longer a chain of command over the Eidolons – any of them. Most have not yet been used for malicious intent... but those who have are now instinctually reverting to it."

Amarant asks a question and the old man laughs, but this laugh isn't violent or terrible or anything of the sort – it's dry, and tired, and a little sad.

"There is nothing _you_ can do," he says. "The only way this path may be altered is by regaining control. Unfortunately... The only Eidolon powerful enough to control any of the others, and who is completely loyal to your queen is, at the moment, completely unreachable."

Garnet says something and it looks like "Alexandria."

Beatrix exclaims something – Lani can see it in her expression – and the old man nods.

"Alexander was physically destroyed four years ago, yes. But, as you can see, physical boundaries are very little concern to most Eidolons. But because of what transpired... Alexander is, in effect, asleep."

Amarant waves a hand and Lani _knows_ he said "get a bucket of cold water" or something similar.

Garnet looks at the old man and nods again, this time more solemnly, and stands.

The old man looks concerned – _genuinely_ concerned – and takes her hands up in his again. "It will be a long and difficult journey for you," he tells her, though now he lets everyone listen.

She nods in acknowledgement and then asks something.

"...I do not know when you will regain your sight. I know you will – just as your companion will regain her hearing." He motions to Lani with a hand and though Garnet can't see her, she _does_ look in Lani's direction. "Perhaps soon... perhaps not."

She asks him something else, and he whispers, "There is nothing I can do for him. I am sorry."

Amarant says something with a serious expression on his face.

"That is not your decision to make. If she wishes to do what she needs to, she will. If she decides she is incapable – it is her choice alone."

Now the hunter makes a defensive gesture and says something in a loud voice – his voice is raised because his head is raised.

The old man looks at Amarant like he's a kid and says, "Do not dare _think_ that you have a choice in matters of the world, child. I have seen men stronger than you die because of such assumptions."

Amarant raises his fist and narrows his eyes, shouting something, and Lani has to say, "Amarant, _stop_!" before he does something stupid.

The hunter looks at her, eyes narrowed into slits, and she glares back. "It's her decision, to do whatever she wants. She's not a little kid anymore."

The old man turns his head to look fully at Lani, who tries to stare him down but fails.

"You would do well to learn from your friend," he speaks to Amarant, still staring down Lani, who shifts uncomfortably and looks to the horizon.

Garnet nods to the old man and asks something – Lani catches the words "where," "we," and "go."

"...The only one who may be able to help you is currently lost," he says, "She is still here, though I myself am not sure where."

Amarant crosses his arms and asks... something about Lindblum. Lani's almost sure.

"Perhaps. I cannot take you there... this is a holy quest. Eidolons such as I do not interfere with these matters."

Amarant snorts and turns away, stalking off. Lani looks to the queen, who is staring at the old man in almost reverence, then at the general, who looks still very apprehensive, and then follows after the other bounty hunter, picking her way across the rubble-covered cobblestones.

He's carrying his weight in a way that denotes how angry he really is, and Lani almost thinks twice about following him – but he's her friend, no matter what he thinks, and she's not going to leave him alone now.

"Amarant," she calls, and he stops, turning to face her. His glare is directed at her – completely – and she winces. "...I didn't mean to say anything," she apologizes half-way, "But neither of us have any say in this. We don't even have to go."

Amarant starts ranting, kind of, and paces to and from where he's standing, but Lani can't even make out the barest words, so she waves a hand and says, "I can't hear you, you idiot."

He stops suddenly, and she realizes he _forgot_.

"It's okay, Red," she continues, walking soundlessly to him and only vaguely feeling her voice now – she's starting to get used to it again, the vibrations. You know how you just don't notice these kinds of things until they're the only thing you've got left? Eventually, you forget them all over again.

He shakes his head and looks up at the sky, so she puts a hand on his arm and says, "You let me know if we're going with them, and I'll go."

He looks to her and mouths something slowly – "Treno," and it looks like a question.

"...You let me know," she decides.

He nods and then puts his hand on her shoulder, so she smiles wearily and asks, "Where should we look now?"

* * *

The idea of all of his brothers being gone frightens him more than he ever thought it would.

He picks up the pace and digs a little quicker than the other two, trying desperately not to hyperventilate as he thinks of all the different, horrible ways his brothers could have died in those explosions.

Benero doesn't like thinking about these kinds of things. He makes a point not to – it's just too damned hard to wrap his head around it.

But between Blank's hoarse choke-coughing and Marcus' solemn expression, there's not much else for Benero to focus on, other than the rubble beneath him that was once his home, and the bodies most definitely trapped beneath.

Marcus tells him to slow down, but he ignores the older member of Tantalus – and, for now, the boss.

"I _said_, stop, Benero." Marcus grabs the other's forearm and pulls him up. "Take a breather."

"Marcus," Blank rasps, head tilted down and hands on his knees, "What are we going to do?"

"We're going to rest," the temporary-boss says firmly. "We've been digging for a long time... we need to take a break, or else we're going to-"

"No," Blank cuts him off, "I mean... what are we going to _do_?"

Benero struggles with his options – he can rest, for a minute, and renew the effort full-heartedly, or he can continue, not lose any second, and help his brothers.

He grabs a few more planks and rolls them off the hill.

* * *

It's as if the sea came up and swallowed an entire kingdom.

Burmecia is waterlogged, as soaked to the bone as she is, but there are still buildings standing – tilted, slanted, leaning on each other for help, but still standing. Cleyra, or what had once been Cleyra, is gone. The entire desert is a pit of quicksand, and even though there had been only a few Cleyrians trying to restart their kingdom, the idea that they're forever buried under abnormally deep sand frightens her – just a little.

She's the only one she's found who has survived. If anyone had lived... they weren't showing themselves to her.

She curls her tail around her a little and shivers under the hot sun, looking at the vast sea of quicksand in front of her. She should try to find someone.

She should try to get a hold of Lindblum. She can only hope that this was only an attack on Burmecia, and that Leviathan didn't head towards the other kingdoms. But still, a part of her wants to stay... Besides. She had looked for the entrance to Gizmaluke's Grotto, hoping to find maybe some survivors there, and can see it now, over a vast lake formed due to the lack of drainage around the entrance. She smiles bitterly – quicksand to one side, water to another. It's as if the two kingdoms she had sworn to protect had melted into their purest forms.

Struggling with the heavy spear she had found in one of the upper levels of someone's house, she limps her way towards the grand lake.

* * *

"We must consider our next move, your majesty."

Puck _hates_ his royal guards. They're all so damned stuffy, and they don't seem to want to consider the effects of what they had witnessed last night. How could any old men be so _blind_?

"I think it's pretty damned obvious what we should do!"

They're closer to Lindblum, anyways. Burmecia will be fine – it's overcome worse before. Kuja comes directly to mind, but so does Brahne, and the General Of Her Army... Whatever her name was.

"We have to return to Lindblum and find out what happened," one of the younger guards speaks up. Puck _knew_ he liked that kid – he's young, only about twenty, and he's got his head on right.

"That's _right_."

"But... your majesty, we should really return to Burmecia-"

"Do you think anyone in Burmecia would accept such a cowardly retreat? Just think what Freya would say! You're lucky she didn't come, or else you'd be eating those words."

"It's not cowardly, sire," the young guard cuts in for the older one, "But I agree with going to Lindblum first. We're far closer."

Puck crosses his arms and looks between the old and young. He _knows_ which he really probably _should_ do – Burmecia needs him, has needed him for a while – but in the end, he decides to ask himself, "What Would Freya Do?"

"...Turn us around," the young king orders the driver of their carriage, "We're going to Lindblum."

* * *

"We must consider our next move."

Beatrix from her sword to her husband, trying to decide who she should focus more attention on. Save The Queen is badly nicked and could do with a sharpening, before they leave Alexandria...

She puts it down and focuses herself on Steiner.

"I think our next move is obvious," she tells him. "Ramuh said that-"

"I do not know if we should _trust_ the Eidolon," he responds, holding his own blade awkwardly in his left hand. It's going to be hard, Beatrix thinks vaguely, relearning how to use a blade.

"I believe him," the queen mumbles now, looking at the ground and not knowing how short her sleeping gown is. They'll have to find new clothing.

"Your Majesty," Steiner consoles, "I understand that you want to believe him, but the fact is that he is an Eidolon as well... How do we know he's even telling the truth?"

She looks up, staring in the general direction of his voice, and says, "Vivi was a black mage. Why did we trust him?"

Steiner falls silence and Beatrix stands.

"Your Majesty... if you wish to follow his advice, I will follow you to the ends of the world. But first, we must access the damage here. If there are any survivors..."

"There aren't," the queen whispers hoarsely.

"Ow! _Ow!_ Stop roughin' me up, ya great oaf!"

The three look up, and Garnet tilts her head a bit to the side and focuses solely on the noise coming from down the broken street.

"I can't _help_ it," Amarant's gruff voice echoes in the hall, "It's not like this place is _handicap accessible_."

"Ya don't have ta _drag_ me!"

"You want to walk on your own?"

"Amarant," Garnet calls, "Who are you...?"

The bounty hunter, along with Lani – Beatrix only remembers her name vaguely – appears around the corner of the house, and between them is a young woman with ragged, tangled blue hair and one leg badly mangled and broken.

"I'll be _damned_!" the woman cries, eyes lighting up, "Y'all survived for real! Thought for sure we were the only ones...!"

"I've seen you before," Beatrix mumbles.

"Of course ya have! I'm part of Tantalus, ya know! I played Cornelia all those years ago... Oh! But that don't matter anymore. I'm just glad there are others still alive!"

"You talk an awful lot for being in pain," Amarant grumbles.

"Well, I can't _help_ it! It's this or shriekin' – y'all decide."

The two hunters help the actress sit on a tilted, half-broken chair, and she winces in pain.

"...Ruby," Garnet says suddenly.

"Ya remember me! I'm honored, yer Majesty."

The queen smiles softly and says, "If someone could help me over to her... and tell me what's wrong..."

"Oh," the actress cries softly, clasping her hands to her chest. Beatrix forces herself not to roll her eyes – what a dramatic person. "What happened?"

"...I'm only temporarily blind," the queen replies, "But I can still help you."

Steiner stands and helps their queen to the chair. "Her left leg," he says, "is badly damaged."

She nods and closes her eyes, putting her hands against the chair, and white light glows around the leg. Beatrix has always found that glow... soothing.

The actress cries out in glee and says, "Oh, it looks good as new!"

"You... you might have a limp," Garnet says.

"Ah, that ain't a problem. I ain't actin' much anymore, anyways. Say," she looks around, and now Beatrix knows what the next words will be, "Where's Zidane?"

Garnet's expression fades into one of quiet remorse and she looks generally in the direction of the sky. The actress stares in confusion, and then covers her mouth with her hands.

"Oh... Oh, I'm..."

The actress has nothing to say to the sudden revelation, so Beatrix cuts in. "How did you survive?"

"...Oh," she mumbles, before looking to Beatrix, "My theatre's underground. Other than a few spots where the ceiling's saggin' from the buildin' on top of it, we got out pretty well. I was outside when... when it happened." She waves a hand to her leg, "Ashley got me inside. He left earlier this mornin' to look around – haven't seen him yet."

Garnet's face brightens and she says, "So, there are survivors?"

"Oh, yeah, yer Majesty. There's actually a mess of us down in the theatre – a good fifteen, twenty of us. The attack happened durin' the middle of my play." She makes a face, "Even Lowell's alive – a shame, but good things happen to bad people, sometimes."

Amarant crosses his arms and Beatrix looks to him now. He seems... upset. She doesn't understand why.

"So Alexandria isn't completely destroyed."

Steiner grins a little uneasily and says, "The people of Alexandria are not easily squashed."

Garnet now stands, and Steiner holds her arm to balance her. She seems quite off-balance... too much, it seems, to be normal. Then again, after everything...

"Can you take us there?" the queen asks, and Ruby – Beatrix makes an effort to remember her name, now – nods.

"Sure thing, yer Majesty," she salutes, standing. She wobbles a little and looks at Amarant with large eyes, "Can't I get a man ta help me keep _my_ balance?"

Lani's eyes catch this and she says in her louder-than-necessary voice, "Don't even think about it."

Amarant looks to her in vague confusion and then rolls his eyes. "You're doing fine on your own."

Ruby pouts but goes to the entrance of the house and says, "Well, if y'all follow me..."

Beatrix stands.

There's hope for the kingdom after all.


	3. A Motley Crew

The motley crew of survivors is rather... unusual, Steiner decides.

Among the survivors in the theatre is a thief he vaguely recognizes, who introduces himself as Alleyway Jack, and to who Amarant gives a vicious glare; an old dog named Dante; the owner of the bar near the front of town; and a little girl no older than ten, holding a bear and looking at them all in confusion.

These are the only ones relatively undamaged – the others are all beaten or battered. Some have only massive bruises, others are cut, and still others have broken limbs. They don't ask the queen for help, however, even after seeing Ruby's leg – they simply smile and agree that it's a good omen that their queen has survived.

Steiner loves his kingdom very much, and these people only reassure him that they will persevere. Even if the thief with four arms keeps backing towards the back of the theatre, giving Amarant and Lani wary looks – even if the little girl looks nearly traumatized. He wonders if the girl's parents are even alive.

Garnet is sitting in one of the chairs with her hands in her lap, looking blankly ahead over the tops of people's heads. She's telling them all that though damage is severe, she's certain everything will be alright, and that they mustn't get discouraged by these events.

Steiner looks to Beatrix and finds her leaning against the wall by the entrance, blankly gazing at the queen, and goes to her. "Are you alright?" he asks lowly, not wanting to interrupt the queen's speech.

"...Fine," his wife says, looking to him and nodding. "I'm simply... worried. We have a very long journey ahead of us."

Steiner smiles and says, "It isn't that long. I've traveled the entire way."

Beatrix nods but responds with, "You also had Zidane to lead you."

The knight turns his head to Garnet and doesn't respond.

"Is there any word from Lindblum?" Dante asks gruffly, arms crossed over his chest, "Or Burmecia?"

"...None, as of yet," Garnet responds, "But..." She tilts her head to the side and asks, "Beatrix?"

"Yes, your Majesty?" the general responds, pacing forward and leaving Steiner at the wall. He watches the two converse in quiet tones and examines the faces of the crowd – they all look puzzled, and some worried, over the sudden secrecy.

Beatrix nods and then, remembering Garnet's condition says, "Yes, your Majesty."

Garnet nods now, and then says, "Captain Steiner, General Beatrix, and I will be leaving for Lindblum today, to ask for help."

Several people mutter worriedly to one another and Alleyway Jack exclaims, "On _foot_?"

"We're quite certain of the way," Garnet responds calmly to the question, smiling vaguely. "Captain Steiner and I have already traveled that way before. We will be going through Evil Forest-"

The group gasps now, and the bar owner says, "That's _suicide_!"

"Nonsense," Beatrix waves a hand, "Evil Forest is petrified. It is barely a day's walk through, and with all the living inhabitants petrified, we will be completely safe."

"...We will then take the Ice Cavern to South Gate," Garnet concludes. "South Gate's footpaths should still be traversable. Hopefully, we will get through to Lindblum territory by the end of tomorrow – if not sooner."

The four-armed thief nods and says, "Sounds good, your Majesty!"

"Leave the cleanup to us," Dante replies. "We'll try to find more survivors."

The group all agrees that the queen has it planned, and Steiner nods, smirking. He loves his kingdom.

Ruby goes up to the general and queen and the three women converse quietly. Beatrix then helps Garnet up, and together the two follow the actress towards the stage.

Steiner uses this moment to search the crowd, trying to place names to faces. Eventually, his eyes land on Amarant, who is leaning against the wall by the bar and shaking his head at Lani. The bounty huntress is currently digging through the bar, filling a sack with various items.

He hates theft so he goes to them and asks, "What is it you're doing?"

"She's decided to stock up for us. We've got a long way back to Treno."

The knight frowns, looking at Amarant in confusion. "You aren't coming with us?"

Lani stops packing for a moment and looks between the two men, cocking her head at Amarant. He waves a hand, so she shrugs and continues.

"Doesn't look like you'll need us," Amarant says, "So we figure we'll head back to Treno and pillage a bit." He smirks, violently, "It's been a while since I've been able to _pillage_ something."

"Pillage!" Steiner exclaims, "Why in – have you learned _nothing_ in these past few years? This is not the time to be robbing people!"

Amarant rolls his eyes. "Look. Lani and I have better things to do than wander about with a warrior woman, a blind queen, and a knight who can't even use his sword anymore."

Steiner growls. "I am not so inept. I could easily fell you."

"Really?" The bounty hunter crosses his arms, "Try it."

Steiner doesn't know how to use his left hand for much of anything, but he pretends it's his right and reaches over, grabbing the hilt of his sword and drawing it from its sheath in one fluid movement, tip landing directly in front of Amarant's long nose. The hunter raises an eyebrow.

"Interesting."

Lani looks back up and then double-takes, looking to Steiner and waving her hands, putting the bag down and going around to step between the sword and Amarant. "Don't fight; this isn't a good time," she says, motioning to the people now staring at them silently.

Steiner stares at her for a moment, then to the people watching, and then sheathes his sword, nodding. "Fine."

"Steiner...?"

The knight turns to face his queen and Beatrix, who has her arms crossed and is giving him a semi-annoyed, semi-approving glare.

"Yes, your Majesty?" he asks, ignoring his wife warily and coming forward.

He sees what they had been talking to Ruby about – the queen is now dressed in clothing akin to hunting clothes – a green tunic and loose-fitting pants – and his wife is wearing a chain-mail shirt and tight riding pants, sword hanging from a lose belt. She always has looked good in masculine clothing.

"If you need – Ruby says she has clothing that you could wear for our journey."

Steiner looks up to see Ruby waving to him from the stage and so he nods, then says, "Thank you, your Majesty."

Beatrix accompanies him and tells him quietly, "Though you can handle your sword without fighting anyone, do _not_ start with the bounty hunter."

He smirks and replies, "Yes, my lady – anything for you."

Garnet, meanwhile, stands awkwardly beside the bar and feels the grain under her hands. For all she knows, there could only be two people around her right now.

"Amarant...?" she tries.

"...What?"

She smiles a little. "Will you be accompanying us?"

Amarant makes a noise and then Lani asks, "What is it?"

Garnet wonders how Amarant is handling being surrounded by one deaf woman and one blind one. It must be hard – he can't hide his expressions from one of them, and can't hide what he's saying from another.

"Oh," Lani says, signaling that he's somehow got the basics through to her.

"Amarant," Garnet calls softly, "...I need your help."

The man is quiet and she wonders if he still thinks at all of their journeys together. She hopes he does – and that he thinks highly enough of them to do it all again, even without...

"Please," she pleads.

Amarant makes a pained sound, and she reaches out a hand, silently still hoping. She feels his hand wrap around hers and he mutters quietly, "...Alright."

A moment later and Lani adds, "I'm coming too. Where Red goes, I go, that's the deal."

Garnet nods and smiles. She knows that Lani's... well. She understands, to some extent, Lani, and she's not about to break apart a very good defensive and offensive team.

"Your majesty," Beatrix's voice comes from behind, and Amarant lets go of her hand quickly, "Some of the townspeople wish to speak with you before we leave."

The queen nods and allows Beatrix to take her arm, leading her in some direction or another. She had never known how important her eyes were until now – she wonders how everything truly looks. She wonders how he looked...

Perhaps its better she cannot see.

"Your majesty," a familiar voice calls from her left, sounding very muffled and almost inaudible. She turns her head to the side and hears it again, "I think I should talk to you about your companions."

"Yes?" she asks, slowly realizing something for herself as the voice shifts to her right and, consequently, becomes louder.

"Well," the male's voice drawls, a little disrespectful sounding but still with that... soft tone. A kind of buttery feeling, like someone used to using their voice to seal deals, make pacts, and condemn. "Those two you were just talking with – oh, the red haired man and that woman. Do you know who they are?"

"I believe I'm quite familiar with both of them, being that they were hired to kill me," she responds in an easy voice, mimicking his butter-texture. She can play this game.

"...Oh. Then – then you know, that man is-"

"The Flaming Amarant, yes. Ten thousand gil from the royal family for his capture." Garnet's lips curve into a smile. "Steiner?"

"Yes, your majesty?" comes the knight's voice, barely concealing his aggravation.

"Who ended up receiving that money? I forget."

"I believe he collected it himself," Beatrix responds for her husband, and the queen can hear the humor in her voice.

"Ah, yes. As you were saying, mister...?"

"...J-Jack. Uh, Alleyway Jack. Haven't I seen you before?"

"I would expect so," Garnet drawls coyly, "I'm afraid I can't extend the same question towards you, however."

"Oh... Oh, I remember now!" The man laughs and says, "You were in Treno! I... oh."

Garnet blinks and then draws up memories from Treno. The last time she had been there had been over the Supersoft. So... Ah!

"...How much does a power belt go for nowadays?" she asks, calmly, "I do believe I have one for sale."

"...In any case," the man hurriedly states, suddenly loosing that soft, conniving tone and gaining a more placating one, "I would be aware of their motives. Perhaps... perhaps the Flaming Amarant has changed, after being in your presence-"

"Ah, the flattery of a knave," Steiner mutters lowly to Beatrix, and Garnet smiles.

"-warn you that the woman might be..."

"That is enough," Garnet frowns now, feeling her voice vibrate and fill the room a little more than she had been going for, "I will not tolerate any remarks towards Lani's reputation. If you are trying to warn me out of concern for my safety, you needn't worry; however, I do believe that you are trying for something else. State your business, if you will."

"I simply worry for you, your majesty!" The man's smooth voice returns, hastily adding, "But I see now that I was worrying for nothing. Please excuse me... I, ah, have things I must attend to."

"Thank you for your concern," the queen responds in a lilting voice, "And I hope to return to Alexandria and hear as to how you've helped our kingdom."

"Ah... Yes, your majesty. Good luck on your journeys."

Quick retreating steps and then, "Good god, your majesty, how can you tolerate that sort of...?"

"Steiner," Garnet admonishes, "He was simply looking for something he won't be able to find."

"You know, you probably should've listened to him."

She feels Amarant's presence, rather than hearing him, really, and says lightly, "Well, if you're so concerned, I suppose you'll have to turn Lani in for her bounty as well. I can assure you, she will get a firm slap on the wrists if you do."

Amarant chuckles and says, "I can't guarantee you much of anything, Garnet, but I don't think you're going to have to worry about Lani. She's a leech. She can't hear, and we can. She isn't going to go traipsing around Gaia if she's deaf."

"You should be careful as to what you're saying," Beatrix states. "You have no idea when she'll gain her hearing back, and her standing next to you is not always a good thing in that case."

The bounty hunter grumbles, "I've been on the receiving end of her annoyance before. Hell has no fury, you know?"

"I know," Steiner mutters in response.

"Oh, you poor boys," Garnet sighs, before frowning. "We don't have time for this. We really should be going – it might get dark before we get through Evil Forest."

"Yes, your majesty," Steiner agrees, before making rounds to inform people of their leave.

"Your majesty," Beatrix starts, only to be cut off by the younger woman.

"Beatrix, I really don't want to feel like a queen right now."

"...Garnet," the general corrects herself, "Do you think that this was an attack only against Alexandria?"

Garnet sighs and shakes her head. "I... I don't know, Beatrix. I hope it was."

Amarant makes a noise but Garnet doesn't have the heart to ask him for his opinion.

She has a feeling she might already know what it is.

* * *

Blank's not sure what's wrong with him but it's getting harder to breathe with every movement. Marcus checks his chest nervously and puts his hands against the other's ribcage, telling him to breathe in slowly, while Benero is still on the hill, digging through the wreckage.

"Marcus," the redhead rasps, "Marcus..."

"Everything's going to be fine, bro," the new boss says quietly, "Everything's going to be fine."

He draws in a breath and feels it rattle in his throat, "What happened – where's the castle?"

Marcus stands up from his kneeling position in front of the other. "I don't know. I don't know, Blank. I don't have any answers for you. But I want you to stay here, okay? You need to rest. You probably just have dust in your lungs. It's probably nothing."

Blank's chest heaves and he nods slowly, "Alright... I trust you, Marcus."

"Thanks, bro." The older of the two looks relieved at this unabashed announcement – the two of them have always relied on the other. That's just how it's always been.

"Oh _god_," Benero shrieks from the hill and Marcus turns around.

"...We... I guess we found someone," Blank mumbles weakly.

"...I wish we hadn't."


	4. Dark of Night

Evil Forest has been partly destroyed.

They had gone down to the base of the cliff where Alexandria is situated, and now find themselves at the back of the forest, which is torn up and has bits and pieces from buildings embedded in the ground. Many trees have been uprooted and others are in splinters.

Amarant comments that Bahamut has shitty aim, and Steiner silences him with a look.

They pick their way carefully through the ruined bit of forest, with Beatrix and Steiner guarding Garnet, Lani looking all over to make up for her inability to hear danger, and Amarant lagging behind, taking in the sudden stillness around them. He's only been in Evil Forest once before, and he's _never_ been in a petrified forest. Nothing is alive – or at least, nothing is able to move. He wonders if this is how Lani feels right now – there's absolutely no wind, and no leaves to sway in it if there had been; there are no birds, no animals, no monsters; there's not even running water. And he was sure there had to be some sort of stream or something – the waterfalls fall right down into the forest, after all.

Garnet is asking Steiner quietly if he can see anything familiar, and the knight responds that he can – everything looks exactly as it had when they had crashed here four years ago.

She smiles and looks up blindly at the treetops, and Amarant forces himself to watch for trouble he knows isn't coming.

It goes on like this for a good three hours – they stop to rest a few times but can't find anywhere to get water, and Lani comments, "We're going to die in here just like everyone else – only, instead of insane plants, it'll be from damned dehydration. What a waste." Beatrix says that it was foolish of them to assume that the water wouldn't be petrified.

On their third break, Amarant stands beside the river and wonders if the water really _is_ petrified. A good five or six stomps on the edge shatter the thin rock layer and reveal fresh, running water beneath. This gets him appreciative looks from Beatrix and Steiner, as well as a thank you from Garnet and a nod from Lani.

The sun is starting its descent, and Steiner casts a worried look at the shadows growing around them. "We're going to have to camp out," Amarant drawls casually, earning a nervous glare from the knight. "There's no way we can make it through the entire forest in half a day."

"I agree," Beatrix responds. "We should consider finding a place to rest for the night..."

Lani's stomach rumbles and she sighs. "Are we stopping soon?"

Amarant nods to her and she grins.

About an hour and a half later and the sun is having trouble getting through the petrified branches. It's as good as dark in the forest – really kind of pitch black, almost. There's no way for the sun to filter through the trees, being below the canopies, and the moons haven't quite gotten to a point where they can get through either.

"I have a feeling this is as far as we get tonight," Beatrix sighs, helping Garnet sit down on a rock. It's really not fun to sit on the grass, which is like a bunch of little stone knives sticking you, but they'll have to make do since they've got no tents to spare.

Amarant looks around and then says, "I'll be back in a bit," before wandering off.

Lani wonders why Amarant decided to come. She was certain they had been heading back to Treno... She supposes the queen had a big part to play. _Damn it, Red_, she thinks sullenly, _we could have been on our way home by now..._

She doesn't really mind not going back to Treno, though. Parts of her want to check and see if anyone worthwhile lived, but the majority of her just wants to stay away and let things rebuild before she goes wandering back in.

She looks up at the tree tops. It's weird – she's never seen petrification from such a close perspective. The leaves have every little crease and vein; the bark has every rut and knothole...

She wonders where the monsters are.

Amarant comes back with his arms full of rocks, which Lani quickly figures to be fruit. He dumps them on the ground in the center of their semi-circle and crosses his arms in that damned self-satisfied way of his.

"Red," Lani sighs, shaking her head, "We're not going to eat rocks."

The bounty hunter looks at her like an idiot, and Lani crosses her arms as he turns back to the other three. He must be saying something strange, because Beatrix and Steiner look at each other in confusion, before helping Garnet up. They help her to the pile of fruit, where she sits on her knees and feels around for a moment. Amarant reaches down and puts her hands over the pile, says something...

There's a soft glow from the queen's hands and suddenly the fruit softens, color appearing and beating away hard rock with soft flesh.

"Red, you're brilliant," Lani breathes, earning a smug look from her companion and an apple tossed her way.

They feast on fruit and water, and Lani's content with that.

For now.

* * *

Puck tries very hard not to make any sign of how shocked he is over the state of Lindblum as he and his aggravating entourage work their way through the shopping district.

The fact that the main castle is pretty much nonexistent makes this task incredibly hard.

There aren't a lot of survivors – that he can see for sure, now. Those who are alive are hurt – very badly – and many of the ones who are hurt will probably be permanently crippled. A little girl screams from somewhere inside a broken house, and the young guard looks in the direction of the sound, decimated by the chaos around him.

"I want you all to split up!" Puck finally exclaims, turning and staring down his royal guards. "Rescue those who need help – leave the dead _alone_, we don't have time for them! Do not leave people for dead, however – make sure you are _certain_. Help them onto stable ground, fetch water and food, and keep them _calm_! Do you understand?"

The guards all responds with aching Yes-Your-Majesty's and split up. The youngest guard immediately goes towards the screaming child and Puck turns away, plotting out the fastest course to the castle possible.

An old man told him once that it took a half an hour to walk from the business district to the Grand Castle – it takes Puck an hour and a half to do so. He's pretty sure he saw some part of the old man back there but he's not going to stop to look.

The castle is completely destroyed, and Puck cries out, "Can anybody hear me? Is anybody there?"

A weak cough from his left draws him to a pile of rocks. He swiftly pushes them to the side and digs through as best he can; shedding his royal cloak, his crown – anything that doesn't help him is gone now.

The guard stares up with a blind eye and jaw cracked in half, a patch of his skull visible through bloody flesh and bone.

"...Can you help me up?" he asks softly.

"I would," Puck responds, digging a bit more now and then drawing back, "But... You have nothing to stand on."

The man groans and lays back, silent, head lolling.

Puck checks his pulse and then pulls away, standing and stalking through the ruined hall leading to the inner castle.

"...Eiko!" he shouts, "Eiko, are you okay!"

He finds the lift, broken and twisted and mangled, and finds Regent Cid beside it, looking very much like the lift itself. He covers his mouth with his paws and looks around in very real terror.

"Eiko!"

He clambers over mountains, digs through blocked entries, but he just can't _find her_...

"Eiko, you damned _brat_ where _are you_!"

A hand reaches for him under rubble and he forces himself to stop his search, and helps the female airship pilot out of the rubble. She's broken and bent and doesn't have long to live, and she _knows it_. He can see it in her eyes

"...The light," she mutters, "...Lady Eiko, the light was so bright..."

"What about Eiko?" Puck asks, lowering his voice and smoothing it out, unwilling to let her hear him panicked.

"...Her light... It was so warm... I wish she'd bring it back."

He looks around in confusion. "What light? Lady, don't _die_ on me right now! Do you know where Eiko went? Is she alright?"

"...Odin..."

Her head sags and her eyes roll backwards, and he swears quietly, closing her eyes for her and laying her down in a somewhat comfortable looking position, despite her broken back.

"Eiko," Puck asks the darkening sky, "Where in the hell are you?"

* * *

Quale sits over the stove and stirs the roast chocobo soup – it's no good if you leave it lying over open flame without stirring. It needs aggravation. After all, nothing is worth anything if it doesn't involve a little stirring.

He thinks a small bit on the blasts he heard late last night, from the direction of the big castle on the cliff he sees when he steps out onto his porch... And now he thinks on the fact that he no longer sees the castle.

Quale is not sure what happened outside of the marsh but he doesn't particularly care. After all – Quina will let him know whenever Quina gets back.

* * *

It's been a long time since he's stayed outside for a night, and he doesn't know what to do with himself right now.

Steiner tries to keep guard but his sword arm throbs dully, invisibly, and he massages the smooth skin – it's almost like a very old scar. There are no monsters in this area – he _knows_ this, he was here when it was petrified – and there's really little point to keeping watch, but he does it anyways.

He fumbles with his sword and draws it out of its sheath. He had placed the sheath on his right side, to denote the fact that he uses his left hand, and wonders if that's proper protocol.

Then again, damn protocol. He doesn't have another arm to hold the sword with, after all.

He does a few training moves that he pulls up from his days as a young guard, fumbles the hilt and nearly drops his sword. He swears under his breath and re-sheathes the blade, looking up at the canopy in idle contemplation.

All that Ramuh said had seemed... truthful enough. He has heard the story of how Ramuh came to be in his queen's services, and he's fairly sure that they can trust him, but no one should blame him for having reservations over it. He never trusted Bahamut, not after all it had done... how can he easily trust another Eidolon?

He turns and tries to see Alexandria but fails. Instead, his eyes drop down and land on the group surrounding the almost-extinguished fire.

Beatrix is sleeping fairly peacefully with the queen at her side, and he wonders if, when they get to Lindblum, she'll try to cut her hair evenly. He always loved her hair – it's a shame that it had to get sheared off so haphazardly.

He looks to Amarant, who has his arms crossed and chin tilted against his chest, back against a tree, and wonders as to the bounty hunter's motives. He didn't particularly trust the other man when he first met him, but he ended up proving his worth in many ways that Amarant himself probably didn't realize.

But still. A bounty hunter is almost always a bounty hunter, and Amarant never seemed to be the kind to be sympathetic towards anyone else, much less royalty.

...Except, perhaps, Lani.

He isn't sure at _all_ how to gauge Lani. Amarant seemed sure that the only reason she is with them is because she is deaf, but for some reason, Steiner can't quite put all his money on that.

The girl is sleeping next to Amarant, on a smoothed out surface the bounty hunter had created in the pointed grass by dragging his feet in the ground. Something about her just shouts _danger_, or at least a mild warning of it, but...

She mumbles in her sleep and shifts closer to Amarant.

He turns back to the shadows and silently issues a challenge with his left hand placed on the hilt of his sword.

* * *

Morning finds Puck and his guards – along with a few more able-bodied Lindblum citizens – scouring the castle and business district for survivors. A few of them have attempted to get to the theatre district, but the entire area is blocked off from fallen townhouses.

Puck wipes at his fur, feeling disgustingly damp and slick, and removes the last bit of royalty, leaving himself in just his traveling slacks and thick riding boots. His guards have long since shed most of their own clothing, and the young king wonders how in the hell these people live under the sun all the time.

People are getting water from wells and though it _looks_ clean, Puck tells them to start fires and boil it for two or three minutes before passing it out to everyone. He doesn't want to take chances – there are dead bodies everywhere and who knows, someone might've fallen into the water.

So fires are set up around the wreckage and pots salvaged from restaurants and homes are filled to the brim with water.

The thing about people that amazes Puck is their ability to cope. While he knows all of these people have suffered serious hardships like this before, they aren't facing it resignedly, or even really moping so much. The ones able to help are helping, smiling and cheering up those around them, and those who can't are either looking for family among the injured, or talking to their neighbors and supporting one another.

He smirks to himself, just a little, and commends the late Regent on all his work. His people are truly a force to be reckoned with.

"Excuse me, your majesty," comes one of his guards from behind, so he turns and crosses his arms.

"What is it?"

"...There are some questions being raised among the citizens," he says, trailing off for a moment and then adding in a quiet voice, "About the Regent."

Puck frowns and turns his back briefly, before realizing how rude that is and facing him again. "...Don't tell them. Not yet – we really can't afford to decrease moral at the moment."

"Yes, sir. There are also questions as to... Alexandria."

Puck frowns, raising an eyebrow carefully. "What of it?"

"Well, your majesty..." The guard looks nervously at his feet – as is proper, because he's about to say something about Burmecia's closest ally that Puck really doesn't want to hear. "...The Eidolon that attacked Lindblum."

"...What about it?"

"Well... It's fairly well known that the Eidolon Odin attacked – and destroyed – Cleyra. And that, at the time, he was under Queen Brahne's power.

"...Queen _Brahne_ is dead."

"Yes, but Odin has long been under Queen _Garnet's_ control."

Puck frowns and looks around solemnly. "They think that _Garnet_ would do this?"

"There are some... suspicions, yes."

Puck rolls his eyes. "For the love of – do you _see_ any Alexandrian airships around here? Does it look like this was an organized attack?"

"Sir – _I'm_ not saying it – I'm simply passing on rumors to you."

The young king frowns and turns away. "Fine. If you hear that rumor come from anyone's mouth, _quell_ it. We can't have mutinous thoughts against Alexandria."

"Sir, I know you and the queen are on very good standing with each other, but the fact is-"

"The fact is, even if this _was_ an attack by Alexandria – which it _isn't_, you must be _insane_ to think that – we're the closest allies to Alexandria. If they think Alexandria's attacking them, do _we_ look very good to them?"

The guard frowns. "I... I see your point, your majesty. I will inform the others." He salutes, and smartly marches off through the rubble.

"They are not used to you making strategic political decisions, little king."

Puck whirls around and is faced with an overgrown wolf, smiling toothily, fur kind of swaying around him in a nonexistent breeze and swirling at the tips into a black vapor.

"What the hell are you?" Puck asks, hiding his nervousness at being accosted by a phantom animal.

"Manners," the wolf scolds, voice deep and echoing. "I am not a _what_." The wolf paces up beside the Burmecian and surveys the business district from their strategic position. "I am Fenrir."

"...Fenrir!" Puck exclaims in confusion, "But – you're supposed to be an Eidolon!"

"That I _am_," the wolf growls, not menacingly, "Did you suppose all Eidolons were humanoid?"

"I didn't know what to – wait..."

The wolf looks at the king and cuts him off. "I am not going to attack anyone. Unlike Odin... I have more important matters to deal with. I came to inform you that... unfortunately, your kingdom is gone."

The words all make sense to the king but he doesn't understand them strung together as they are. "...What?"

"Your kingdom, my young king, is no more." Fenrir casts a dark look to the horizon, "Leviathan saw to that."

"...Burmecia...?"

Fenrir is surprised at the very quiet voice the king suddenly takes on, and turns to find the boy staring at him in almost incomprehensible fear. He doesn't look like a king – only a little boy who has suddenly found himself homeless and destitute. He realizes that the loss of power and people must be very hard for mortals – he just has never seen _why_...

"...Are there any survivors!" the boy asks frantically, "Is anyone still there? Is... Is Freya alright! You have to tell me!"

Confused, the Eidolon turns his head to the people of Lindblum again. "Why do you care so much over the people? You are homeless and poor. People worry far more over that than the loss of life."

"You- you stupid filthy _dog_!"

"Watch your mouth, _child_," Fenrir snaps.

"I don't care if I'm poor! I don't care about having a home! Are the Burmecians alright? Are there any survivors? Was this during a festival – I know I missed one – because if not there might've not been everyone at home-"

"...Your people were not all in Burmecia at the time of the attack, this is true. Those who were face dire consequences."

"Is Freya alive?"

The wolf turns past the boy, pacing down the slope a small distance. "There are _few_ survivors. I have no real connection to your land, so I cannot give you definite numbers, and I cannot give you names." He sighs at the boy's expression. "Do not worry too much over the lives lost. They will be recycled – they will continue on-"

"Don't you _get it_? I don't buy into that bullshit!"

Puck turns to the guards, who are working on the castle below him, and shouts, "_Attention_!"

They stop their work slowly and put rocks to the side with infinite care before standing and arranging themselves into rows. Their eyes are focused on their king, who realizes they very well probably can't see the Eidolon at his side.

"I have just now been informed that Burmecia is in a similar state to Lindblum – _don't panic_, you fools!" he shouts when the pack starts fretting, "We will leave here tonight to make our way back home."

"Why not _now_?" one guard asks, "Our home is far more-"

"If you value your tongue, you won't finish that statement," Puck growls. "We will be moving out _tonight_, but not a moment before night. So continue your work with that knowledge. Do you understand?"

"Yes, your majesty," they chorus, and Puck turns back to find the wolf sitting on his haunches, watching the king with interest.

"What are you staring at?"

"...My master told me many things about you, little king," the wolf responds, "But she failed to mention that you are rather unlike any other human I have met."

"That's 'cos I'm not a _human_. I'm Burmecian. And who's your master?"

Fenrir smiles toothily again and Puck realizes that the wolf is fading out on him. "Little king, I will keep in touch with you. You have proven yourself... interesting." He stands and paces forward, towards Puck, who realizes that the Eidolon really _is_ a big wolf. His shoulders come up to Puck's, which puts the king's face on level with the wolf's jaws.

The Burmecian forces back a shudder when the wolf puts his warm head against his shoulder. "Do not be so fearful of things. You should be more concerned over your monetary issues than your people. One thing I have learned of Burmecians is that they last for a very long time." The wolf steps away and starts towards the ridge of the hill, fur seeming to evaporate as he says, "Much like cockroaches, I would think."

"Gee, _thanks_," Puck grumbles as the wolf paces off the ridge and into the air, fur fading and body vaporizing into black mist that dissipates into the sky.

He realizes he didn't find out who the wolf was considering his master, and this annoys the crap out of him.

Now, more than ever, he needs to find Eiko.


	5. In The Forest

Garnet always thought that waking up blindfolded – or, in her case now, blind – would just make her want to sleep more. That's the thing about darkness: it tends to make day into night, and awake into dazed.

She also had always thought that being blind meant absolute darkness, but now that she's moving and – _there's the ground_ – pushing herself up into a sitting position, she can see a vague glow fill the black. It _must_ be morning, then.

Now she focuses her working senses on the area around her. Steiner is still snoring, and it feels very sleepy in their makeshift camp. She can smell fire, and hears someone moving around a few meters away.

"Good, you're awake," Amarant's voice drawls, kind of lazily but not sleepy at all. "I need you to do something for me."

"...Are you talking to me?" she asks, because she has no clue if maybe Beatrix or Lani's awake. Maybe he's talking to someone who can actually do something without being led by the hand.

"Yeah, I'm talking to you."

Footsteps grow louder and she feels Amarant's hand grabbing her arm in a loose grip. "C'mon, get up," he grumbles, "You need to play magic so we can have something worth eating."

"What did you find?" she asks, warily, struggling to her feet with his hand on her arm, balancing her.

"Some wild bird or something. Looks like a pheasant... Just a lot bigger than any I've seen." He lets go of her arm and paces off, returning later and placing something at her feet. "Here, kneel down."

She bites her lip and manages to slide into a sitting position without the bounty hunter's help. He takes her hands up and puts them against solid rock – something she measures it to be nearly a meter long and covered in intricately carved feathers. Real feathers.

"This can't be a pheasant," she breathes.

"The tail's almost half it's length – it looks like a pheasant. I need you to... un-petrify it. Like the fruit. Lani didn't get nearly as much meat as I had expected, and this thing could last us a while."

Garnet bites her lip and strokes the bird's stony feathers.

"Don't get _attached_ to it. It's not like I'm asking you to help me kill a chocobo. This thing's probably a monster, anyways." When she hesitates, he sighs and adds, "Do you want to starve when we're on the plains?"

Garnet _doesn't_ want them to starve, so she holds her hands over the bird and focuses on the spell she learned so long ago – all because Zidane had said it might be a good idea to memorize it.

There's a loud squawk and she feels feathers brush across her face, before a _snap_ silences the bird in mid-struggle.

She pulls her hands away from the suddenly limp bird and crosses her arms over her chest, looking in what she hopes to be a different direction from Amarant.

"Thanks," he mutters, and she hears the grass crack under the bounty hunter – he must be sitting down. She hears the scrape of a dagger leaving a sheath, and closes her eyes against the sound of ripping flesh.

A few minutes later, he asks casually, "How are you holding up?"

They must be the only two awake, and he must be very desperate for company, if he's resorting to talking to _her_ of all people.

"...I'm... I'm alright. How are you?"

He snorts and is silent.

She frowns. "Amarant, that's not a very polite thing to do – I'm simply trying to make conversation."

"Well," he growls, and she hears something slap against the ground and make a disgusting squish noise, "I'm sitting in the middle of Evil Forest, making food for people who couldn't give a shit about me, trying not to open my _eye socket_ and infect it, all while talking to a blind queen who doesn't feel like actually informing people of how she's really feeling. I don't know how you categorize that, but it seems a bit too heavy for casual conversation."

Garnet tries to keep this information with her, instead of focusing on singular aspects of the man's short rant. She files away certain pieces of information and readily acknowledges the more important ones.

"...Your eye...?"

"Got punctured by some shrapnel in Treno," the hunter mumbles, sounding suddenly much less like he _should_ – strong, direct, caustic – and more like... more like someone who doesn't want to worry anymore. "...A healer managed to clean the eye out before she..."

He trails off uneasily and then mutters, "There should be enough here."

"...Amarant. I can't... I can't see," she rasps. "...Is everyone _alright_?"

"Physically?" he asks, before sighing. "...The rust-bucket's arm looks alright. It's healed over nice and smooth – wouldn't be able to tell it was an accidental amputation."

She winces at the word but he continues.

"Sure, your general's hair is shorn pretty short – pity, too – but she looks alright. She's got a few bruises but hell, everyone here should. A couple of those cuts might scar, though... Lani's alright. She's always alright. Her nose is gonna have a funny bump in it, though. Not much we can do for her." He shifts and she hears sizzling from the fire. "Emotionally, though? None of us are going to come out very good."

She doesn't respond to this. She doesn't _want_ to.

"...What about... me?"

Amarant chuckles humorlessly. "You look like royalty. You're the lucky one. You're always the lucky one," he mutters.

"...And you?"

"...Hell, I don't know. It's not like I've been near a mirror in the last few... weeks. I haven't seen my face for a while."

Garnet feels something horrible tugging at her and now, she _has_ to know. She has to make sure that he's really alright – physically. She needs to make sure he's not hurt, that she's not pushing him to a limit by asking him to come with her, she needs to make sure he's not going to-

"Hey! Watch it, woman!"

He grabs her by the shoulder and she realizes she had nearly crawled into the fire.

"Are you _insane_?"

She presses her hands against his shoulders and he breathes in deep, holding the air against his ribcage. Her hands follow small indents and bumps in his skin, ropelike combinations that snake up is neck, cutting themselves in half and twisting in different directions. The left side of his jaw is patched smooth and hairy – she wonders if he shaved his beard but realizes now that no, he just has cuts that are causing this smooth skin. There's a deep gash running from the bridge of his nose down to the right corner of his mouth, and she can feel the strange flatness of his empty eye socket through his eyelids, so she pulls away and sits back.

"_Amarant_," she rasps, and he lets out his breath.

"...Yeah. Figured it wasn't any good. I have a few scars on my arms and feet – I think the healer accidentally healed everything up. Probably wouldn't have so many if she hadn't..."

There's a grunt and Steiner's snoring stops abruptly. Garnet wonders which way would be the best for her to look, when Steiner's voice calls out and answers for her.

"...Wh-What are you _doing_!"

Amarant makes an annoyed noise and Garnet asks, "What?"

"You're sitting in my lap, princess."

Garnet feels her face grow warm and struggles to move, so Amarant guides her over to the hard, prickly stone-grass.

"Y-Your majesty – what...?"

"She nearly walked right into the fire," Amarant drawls, "So I grabbed her. Can't help how the blind fall."

The knight makes a noise and Garnet traces his voice. "Amarant found a pheasant," she tells him casually.

"You might want to wake up your warrior wife, if you want to eat soon," the bounty hunter adds on, earning an annoyed sound from Steiner.

Garnet looks away.


	6. Creepy Crawly

Evil Forest is again silent, with only the faintest lingering smells of cooking flesh and fire trailing after their group. Lani has the meat with her, sliced into strips and wrapped in leather stolen from the theatre. She's even more cautious now that she has fresh food with her, and Beatrix acknowledges her wariness with a motion to her sword and what she hopes is a reassuring smile. The bounty huntress nods to her and forces herself to relax a little.

As general of Alexandria's army, Beatrix would like to say she's been everywhere inside the kingdom. However, she's _never_ been in Evil Forest – she had always felt, in a way, _better_ than it. Besides, people rarely ever travel through this area; they generally use airships to get to and from Alexandria. Those who went through the forest almost never got out alive, and those who did were probably the type who you wouldn't want in your kingdom, anyways.

But now? Now, she's no better than the monsters in the forest. She's not the arrogant fool she once was... A lot has changed.

She looks over at Steiner and Garnet and wonders if either of them realize the seriousness of their situation. Both her husband and the queen are easily shell-shocked by such serious events and she knows that once they reach Lindblum and have a moment to properly reflect...

Something moves just beyond the trees.

"Wait," Beatrix snaps in a low tone, holding her hand up. "Something's there."

"The whole place is petrified," Amarant drawls, while Lani looks at her in confusion before setting her eyes in the direction the general is looking. "There's nothing out there that isn't."

"Beatrix?" Garnet asks, "What is it?"

Stone-grass crunches under something just beyond the trees, which begin to creak ominously.

"Shit," Amarant growls, falling back into a fighting position, bare fists clenched.

A long, thick shadow covers the path behind them and Beatrix looks up to see a giant, squirming red and black mass hover over them, underbelly rimmed by hundreds of writhing appendages.

Branches crack and the body slams to the ground, effectively cutting off their path.

"What was that?" Garnet asks, eyes widening and hand instinctively grabbing Beatrix's.

"Steiner," the general mutters, "Take the queen and head towards the exit. _Quickly_. She'll need to clear the way for us."

"Beatrix..."

"Steiner, _go_!" she hisses.

He nods but before he can lead the queen away, Amarant turns his head to him and says, "Give me your sword."

"What?"

"I need a weapon," he snarls, watching the writhing body slide across the ground, "And you can't use it right now, anyways."

"I..."

"Steiner," Garnet pleads, "I don't want anyone else to get hurt."

The knight looks to the queen, eyes softening and mouth working itself into a deep frown – Beatrix realizes he's seeing the severity of their situation. She feels slightly ill over this revelation, but nods when he looks to her for a decision, reminding her silently that, when it comes down to it, she's the one more suited for this than he is.

He pulls his sword out of the sheath and awkwardly hands it to Beatrix, who stalks forward and places the hilt against Amarant's hand. The sword is dwarfed slightly by the man's size and looks less like a broadsword and more like a large dagger. She forgets what they're called, as she's never fought with one – Zidane would know.

She hears more grass crunching and knows that Garnet and Steiner are fleeing.

She hopes they can follow.

A clicking noise starts up behind them and though Lani doesn't immediately turn, Amarant puts a hand on her shoulder and directs her eyes towards the giant insect head, with clacking pincers and two groups of beadlike eyes bunched together on either side of its head.

"Oh, _shit_," Lani whispers.

Long antennae feel around in the air for them and Beatrix realizes the monster can _taste_ them with those long, feathery appendages. The meat must have drawn the thing to them.

With a loud screeching noise, the monster lunges. Beatrix draws her sword and sidesteps the head, dodging the long, razor-sharp forelegs. Amarant swears loudly and the thing shrieks, raising up on its legs and swaying side to side in the air, one antenna waving around frantically. Beatrix looks to Amarant and sees him grinning fiercely, one antenna lying under his feet, sword and clothes splattered with a thick, quickly-congealing fluid. He swings the sword hard and the pus snakes off the tip and covers the ground.

The monster falls towards the earth, directing itself towards Lani, who rolls out of the way only to get caught under one of the thick legs, pinning her down and earning a sickening _crunch_ when it applies pressure to her shoulder.

Lani shrieks and reaches for the base of the leg, barely grabbing it and bringing it forward enough so that she can roll out of the way. She brings the leg with her and it cracks off of the disgusting exoskeleton, drawing more of the pus and giving her a steady weapon.

Beatrix summons every bit of strength and goes for a headshot, charging forward with her head down and even though she can't feel her hair anymore she still feels like the general of the Alexandrian army, instead of just a stupid-

It turns directly towards her and snaps its jaws violently – she ducks, rolls, jumps, and slams the tip of Save the Queen directly down into the center of its head, earning a snap from the exoskeleton and embeds nearly half the blade into its head.

The monster screams and it starts writhing, tail swinging out of nowhere with long, razor-sharp finlike legs that nearly decapitate Amarant, who sidesteps and grabs two of the back legs with his free hand.

"Stay _still_!" he shouts viciously at the monster, swinging the sword and deftly severing the legs from the body, grabbing two more just as quickly, and continuing even as the body shudders and it's head tosses backwards, knocking Beatrix and Save the Queen off.

It swerves back and forth and Beatrix suddenly realizes that the trees around them are cracking violently.

"Get her and get out of here!" she shouts at Amarant, "It's going to coil up!"

Amarant nods quickly and lunges for Lani, helping her up and looking for a moment at her shoulder, before pointing towards the opening between the monster's tail and tree. She nods and takes off running.

"What are you _doing_!" Amarant shouts to Beatrix, "Let's get the hell out of here!"

"It will follow us if we don't kill it now," she responds, standing from her kneeling position and holding Save the Queen in front of her with both hands, eye narrowed.

"Yeah, who _cares_? The plain's big-"

The monster shrieks and suddenly the trees all around them snap, and Beatrix watches the red and black mass come rolling towards her –

"Do you think the queen wants you to _die_, you idiot!" the bounty hunter exclaims, grabbing her shoulder, "We don't have time for this!"

The tail swings in from behind them and knocks them onto the stone-grass, which punctures Beatrix's arm and draws several little points of blood. Save the Queen flies to the ground some distance away, landing with a dull clang.

Amarant grabs her arm and pulls her down as she tries to stand, eye shutting tightly. He raises Steiner's sword up above them and growls out a word that she can hardly hear, much less understand – a sudden burst of light comes from the tip of the sword and Beatrix is forced to shut her eyes against the brightness of it.

When she opens them, she realizes that the entire insect has wrapped itself around a column of rock, squirming against it and making its last, desperate attempts to move from the indent it's suddenly found itself in.

It heaves its body but can't escape and, after a few moments, it's obvious the thing is dead.

She looks to Amarant to ask what he did and finds him with his head tilted forward, breath coming in short gasps and eye half-lidded and dull.

"Shit," he rasps weakly, "...Didn't think that would be so hard."

"What did you do?" she asks, confused.

"...Gravity," he sighs, falling backwards with his arms stretched out and breathing deep. "If you know the password, you can ask it to do nearly anything."

"You... manipulated _gravity_?"

He nods shortly and then, to Beatrix's surprise, grins lazily at the now-visible sky.

"I feel weightless," he mumbles.

"We need to get out of here," she responds uneasily, looking around. "Can you move?"

"I can float," he responds uselessly, looking kind of drugged, adding, "Your sword is under the first coil, to your left. Might want that."

She nods and picks up Steiner's sword. "You rest while I... figure out how to get to it."

He rolls his head to the side to face her and offers in the most helpful voice, "I could make him float."

"I think you should limit your physics-defying stunts to once in a _long_ while," she responds in mild amusement.

When she reaches the last bit of stone and steps onto the coil, she sighs and looks around.

"...This... This is going to take a while."

* * *

By the time Beatrix and Amarant rejoin the group, Garnet has enriched the vines sealing the entrance and is currently sitting by a tree, hands in her lap and eyes closed – she looks like she's resting and Steiner thinks that she might have overdone herself on that last spell.

Beatrix is limping slightly and Amarant is trailing after her with a dazed look on his face, but when Lani asks him if he's alright, he waves a hand and then points to her shoulder.

"I forgot," she says, and Amarant rolls his eyes in disbelief.

"What happened?" Steiner asks Beatrix, who has come up to him in this brief moment between the hunters.

"Nothing," she responds. "We killed it." She tilts her head forward and rests her forehead on his shoulder. "How do we move the vines?"

Garnet is asking Lani to come over and Amarant's helping her to the queen, who holds out her hands and lets the bounty hunter guide her to Lani's injured shoulder.

"We're not sure," Steiner responds quietly, putting his hand on Beatrix's back. "Are you alright?"

"I am not the one we should worry about," she mumbles, her eye betraying her apprehension as she lifts her head and looks in the direction of their queen and the two bounty hunters.

"I was hoping we could find some way to move the vines," Garnet says suddenly, and the four with sight all look towards the entrance.

"What I'm wondering is how that thing got in here," Lani responds, wincing, "I _hate_ bugs."

Amarant shakes his head and points towards the sky. "It might've fallen from there," he offers.

"Amarant," Steiner begins, but trails off when his wife gives him a warning glance. He instead asks, "Why are you carrying legs from that monster?"

"I don't have a weapon, so I'm going to make one." He looks around, "I have a dagger... but those are useless to me now. Oh... yeah." He puts the three legs onto the ground and withdraws Steiner's sword from under them, tossing it lazily. It lands a foot and a half to the side, and the bounty hunter frowns.

"That's not bad," Lani offers, "I'm surprised you can aim so well, with your eye being..."

He sighs and points to Steiner, and then points to his own head. "I was aiming for here," he grumbles.

"...Oh," Lani mutters.

"_Either way_. Steiner, you and I should try sawing our way through," Beatrix decides.

Steiner nods and picks up his sword carefully, trying desperately to get used to holding it in his left hand, rather than his right.

He wonders what happened with the monster. His wife looks worn out – unusual for her, as she can go days without sleep if need be – and Amarant seems...

Strange.

He decides it really makes no difference, anyways, since they're all alive. When he had seen that writhing body in the trees...

Beatrix begins severing the tendons of the thick vines and Steiner awkwardly follows, determined to learn his left hand.

* * *

It took them almost all night to uncover the dead. It took them all morning to wrap them in ripped blankets and flags from the tops of the buildings.

Blank can't breathe very much now, and it worries Marcus. His younger brother is sitting against a broken brick wall, chest heaving and eyes closed – trying to sleep but unable to. Marcus doesn't know what's wrong with the redhead and that worries him – scares him. He wants to know _why_ Blank is so suddenly incapacitated, but there's too much debris in the way and he can't get through to the business district... if it's even there anymore.

He looks at the four wrapped bodies lined up in the shade of a mostly-destroyed house and wonders if they will ever find the musicians. He doesn't want to look anymore.

Benero had run nearly immediately after finding Zenero and though Marcus doesn't blame him, it left him and Blank to do the hardest work in their life. Blank had held up long enough to uncover Cinna and Genero but by the time that happened the younger Tantalus member was dizzy and had almost collapsed.

Marcus found Baku by himself and thinks that, in some morbid way, that's kind of fitting. The new boss finding the old.

He wants to go after Benero but he's too worried about Blank to do much of anything, other than sit on the hill and look at the ruined castle. He sees a faint, wispy cloud of black float from the rubble and wonders if there's a fire, as well...

"Marcus," Blank rasps, "This sucks."

"I know," the boss sighs, standing up and making his way down the rubble hill and sitting heavily beside the redhead.

"If I die," Blank asks, "What happens with you?"

"You're not going to die," Marcus responds fiercely.

"If."

"...I don't know what would happen, bro." The boss mumbles, putting his arm over the other's shoulder. "Just don't die, okay? I don't want to have to go through this alone."

Blank rasps in response, "I hope Zidane's alright."

Marcus frowns thoughtfully.

"...I'm sure he is, bro."

* * *

The plains aren't nearly as ravaged as Steiner had thought they were going to be. Actually, other than some deep gashes near the entrance of Evil Forest and a few half-craters from Bahamut's stray attacks, they're the same as they were four years ago.

He relays this information to his Queen, on Beatrix's arm, and she smiles and nods, looking around as if recognizing landmarks.

He prays Ramuh wasn't lying. He doesn't want Garnet to stay like this.

He kind of prays that his arm wasn't gone but that's more like a daydream than anything. He prays that Amarant isn't as dazed as he looks, walking with his head down and path weaving slightly back and forth. He also prays that Lani can regain her hearing – if only so that she can leave them sooner.

Something about Lani just doesn't sit right with the knight. He thinks it over and decides that he's probably just letting what the thief in Alexandria said get to him. He trusts Amarant's judgment, to some extent, and if he thinks Lani's trustworthy, then Steiner will make an effort to think the same.

The sun is getting near midday and Steiner decides that their previous plans will have to be extended. They can get through the caves rather quickly – the monsters should be hibernating, and it's not a very long journey to begin with – but getting to South Gate, much less _through_ it, will take at least another day. Maybe two.

"Red?"

Steiner lowers his eyes from the mountains and halts his steps, turning to respond to Lani's sudden statement.

Amarant's standing stock still, eye wide and dilated. Lani paces towards him, asking again, "Red?" But suddenly he shudders, and lets out a gasp, dropping to his knees and curling in tightly around his stomach, hunched over so that his face is in the long grass.

Steiner looks to Beatrix, who steps forward and puts the Queen's hand in his, before jogging over to the bounty hunter and reaching to put a hand on him.

"_Don't_!" he snarls, raising his head slowly and showing a bloody mouth and nose, "Don't _touch me_!"

Beatrix draws back, eye narrowing at the other.

"Red!" Lani exclaims, "What the hell did you do?"

Amarant shakes his head at the general and Steiner frowns – what _did_ he do? And why is it that only his wife seems to know?  
He groans again and then forces himself onto his knees, chest heaving and hand coming up to wipe off the blood from his face. He staggers to his feet shakes his head.

"...Guess... guess the poison from that thing... got to me or something," he mumbles.

"...Are you alright, Amarant?" the Queen asks, and Steiner looks between them. "If you'd like, I could..."

"You should save your energy," the bounty hunter says uneasily. "I recover quick."

Lani looks to the Queen and then catches Steiner's eyes – neither of them believe that story for a second.

The bounty huntress lets it go, and so Steiner does the same. The caves are only a mile away, now... They'll be able to ask questions once they reach Lindblum.

* * *

It's a lot colder than Lani expected it to be. She had always thought that the name "Ice Cavern" was more symbolic than literal – but hell, she isn't prepared for near-freezing temperatures!

Amarant is pacing behind her with his arms crossed and head tilted down – he still has some dried blood on his face but she doesn't want to talk to him.

She rubs her hands over her arms, following Steiner and Beatrix, who seem to know where the hell they are. She's sure that Garnet knows, too, and probably Amarant, but...

Well, they're a little less trustworthy right now.

Beatrix keeps her hand on Garnet as she moves forward to detect thin ice beneath thick snow and wonders where in the world all of this came from in the first place. Really, Alexandria is rather warm and this place just seems out of the ordinary compared to the mild temperatures that the kingdom suffers through. True, areas closer to Lindblum get some snow, but...

Garnet is talking to herself and to Steiner about their first journey through the cave and how it was so beautiful and Steiner responds that it still is.

Beatrix hopes everything works out for her Queen – but she doesn't hold any particular hope on the matter. It's best not to hope, sometimes.

The ice and snow are only home to a few weak-minded monsters, and so when she sees one creeping along the walls, aiming to come closer, she glares and puts her hand on her sword. Aggressive movements usually provoke monsters, but once they see her at the ready and realize that Amarant is carrying legs from a stronger monster, they quickly skitter off.

Beatrix wants very badly to question Amarant on what had happened in the fields, but knows that some things should be discussed in private. She can wait until the opportune moment.


	7. The Bittersweet Comfort of Knowledge

They reach the ruins of South Gate by nightfall.

The entire area is flattened – even the mountain has been smoothed out and other than the large hunks of debris around, Steiner's sure that they can traverse the gate in a day. It's all downhill from here.

They make themselves at home in the ruins of one of the guard posts – it looks more like a circular garden fenced in by low, broken rock walls than a tower. There's a stove lying on its side and Amarant, at Lani's insistence, manages to push it up and prop it into position with some heavy stones.

"I'm going to inspect the surrounding area," Beatrix tells them.

Steiner almost says he'll go with her but she's giving Amarant her, "may I please speak with you" look. He's had that look cast on him before – granted, that was when they were rivals, not husband and wife – and he knows it's better not to interrupt whatever she has planned.

The bounty hunter follows with a mumbled, "I'm going with her."

Lani stretches and looks around, before saying in her barely-too-loud voice, "Hey, knight. Help me find some wood to start the stove."

He looks at her for a moment but she's already searching the rubble, so he joins her. Garnet is sitting with her back against the wall, legs pulled up to her chest and forehead resting against her knees – she must be very tired.

They find a suitable amount of wood and Lani suddenly exclaims, "Perfect!"

She uncovers overturned and shattered pots to reveal a few near-ripe potatoes and some carrots with green tips. Steiner's mildly surprised that there would be any type of gardening going on here but... he knows how guard duty can get.

She points to the stove and so Steiner unloads armful of wood – he hadn't carried as much as he would have been, if he had had...

But why think about it?

Lani comes over and manages to procure a chipped and severely dented pot from the rubble that must have been a storage cabinet at one time, and takes to unloading the heavy bag on her back. He turns away and goes back to Garnet, who raises her head and looks around when she hears his feet crunching gravel.

"Who...?"

"It's me, your Majesty," Steiner intones lowly, sitting beside his queen and looking at the sky above. He smiles, kind of – he doesn't think he can really smile properly anymore. "Feels so familiar, doesn't it?"

"Yes," she agrees in a quiet, somewhat heavy voice. "I feel like I'm just closing my eyes. Like I'll open them in any moment, and he'll be standing there asking me what we should do with the provisions to make it seem less like last night's meal..."

Steiner looks at his Queen and tries to think of something to say. He needs to reassure her when he's not sure himself... He hates lying and so when he tries to say, "Everything will be alright," it feels coarse and thick and just _wrong_.

So he instead puts his arm carefully over her shoulders and pulls her close, opting out of words. She turns her head and presses her face against his collarbone, and when her shoulders start shaking, he does his best to comfort her.

He just doesn't want her to hurt.

* * *

Blank tries to keep himself still but he feels restless – his chest is painfully tight and it's hard to breathe, but he hates staying still.

He tries to remember what he had been talking about a few minutes ago but can't quite remember... though he does recall Marcus telling him that he was delirious.

It's too damned hot and the bed that Marcus had found for him is tilted downwards, lacking its legs on one side and being propped up using rocks for the third leg that is missing as well. It smells like blood and it makes him feel sick. Maybe it's not the bed, really, but the flag he's wrapped in. That could be it.

"Marcus," he calls hoarsely, before remembering that Marcus went looking for Benero.

Benero's such a coward.

His breathing hitches and he closes his eyes because even with them open he can hardly see.

He feels sick, like he's going to throw up; and sick, like he's got the worst fever possible. He wishes they knew what was wrong with him so Marcus could fix him. Marcus is really good at fixing things. He wonders if his brother could fix Baku or at least Cinna.

He giggles and remembers they'd have to find all of either first, before anyone could fix anything.

God, his head hurts.

* * *

Though both Amarant and Beatrix are wandering through the ruins of the tiny South Gate town, they couldn't be more distracted from the rubble. Both of them know what's coming; it's only a matter of time before one starts the conversation. Amarant's not partial to ice-breaking.

Beatrix finally caves, asking, "What was that about?"

Amarant doesn't know if the General would understand what, exactly, had happened in the forest – or on the plains – but he supposes he might as well tell her. Women get... weird if you don't tell them things.

"Gravity isn't all that strong on Gaia," he tells the woman, sorting through broken and unbroken items from the shop. "You have to get a lot of it in one area to make it do anything other than keep our feet relatively planted on the ground. That bug was... well, he was big. If I wanted to grind him into the stone like that, I needed a lot of gravity in one area. I kind of... made a hole where we were, so it'd only affect the bug... And then told gravity to focus itself on the ring around us."

He sits on one of the stones and grumbles, "I usually don't use that kind of magic... much less use it on something so large." He snorts, "I'm surprised it didn't get squashed... must've had a tough hide."

"When I got near the bottom," Beatrix tells him, crossing her arms and leaning against a once-tree, "It was..."

"Squashed? I guess it was worth it, then."

"That doesn't explain what happened in the plains today."

Amarant sighs and scratches his head – he feels a bald spot and winces, pulling a few dreads over the area to hide it.

"You know that saying... uh, the rule of threes, don't you?"

"Rule of threes?"

He closes his eyes. "Whatever you do dole out comes back three-fold." He crosses his arms and tilts his head back, eyes opening on the vast expanse of stars. "It's not really so much with knights and princesses and mages like it is with... um, me. You can't disrupt gravity without it getting you back."

"So... in the plains, you were suffering from all the gravity you put on that monster?" She frowns, "How are you still alive?"

"That wasn't nearly a quarter of it. I figure I'm going to be making up for that little stunt for the rest of my life. It's not like gravity wants to kill me – it just has to settle into the pocket I made."

"Then why hasn't it affected me yet?"

He looks at her in confusion. "You didn't cast anything. Why would it hurt you?"

"I was in the pocket?"

He shakes his head. "Doesn't work like that. Just... you're not gonna get anything back, so don't worry about it. A few more pressures on me can't hurt much."

"Where in the world did you _learn_ all of this? I wouldn't expect a..."

Amarant smirks, "A lowlife to know anything about anything?" When she nods, kind of reluctantly, he shrugs. "I've got hobbies. I've also come across an array of magic a lot more useful than black or white. You just... gotta know what you're doing when you mess with them." He chuckles, "I knew this one that was pretty nice for working with Vivi... Don't use it so much anymore, because making people weak against magic doesn't help me."

"When did you learn the gravity trick?"

Amarant raises an eyebrow, "I wouldn't call it a _trick_. Tricks are easy to learn. That one took me a good long time. No one's seen me use it, except... the monkey saw it once." He looks away, "Told me about the rule of threes when it came back to bite me in the ass that night."

"Zidane knew a lot of things, it seems..."

"...I don't like talking about him in past tense."

Beatrix sighs and looks away. "...Neither do I."

* * *

Blank's body absolutely aches. Actually, he's not quite sure if it's in pain, or if he's just completely numb and hallucinating the pain. His skin is slick with sweat and he can't find a comfortable position on the lopsided bed – every way he turns just adds pressure to his chest and makes breathing that much harder.

He gasps and wheezes on his side and tries to sleep, but he keeps thinking that just over twenty yards away his friends are all lying there... For the most part.

He hears soft-soled boots crunching against the splintered wood and rasps, "Marcus?"

There's no response and he decides he's hallucinating again. He opens his eyes but it doesn't make much difference; night's settled and besides, his vision is so blurry now...

He gags on bile and a hand rests on his shoulder. "Marcus?" he asks again, but he knows it isn't his brother – this hand is soft and smaller and it's not a firm grip like his.

He's sure he's still hallucinating, but it's a damned good one. He starts coughing – his body must be trying to fix him – and feels something wet against the back of his dry throat.

"Shh," a soft voice – perfectly matched to the hand on his shoulder – calls, and the hand moves up to his hair, smoothing it back and reminding him of one of Baku's girlfriends, back when he and Zidane were only about five. They had gotten a nasty bout of pneumonia and she had stayed up with them.

He had liked her. Baku had too... but he guesses she didn't like any of them much, because she left pretty soon after that.

The hand moves to the belt around his forehead and deftly unbuckles it, pulling the slimy leather away and feeling his temperature out.

"You don't have a fever," the soft voice echoes. "...You're too cold."

"...'m burnin'," he mumbles weakly. The hand pulls back and he feels something warm drape over his shoulders.

"I'm so sorry."

He wheezes and tries to focus his eyes, but all he sees is a glow of white in the dark. "...'s okay, not y'r fault."

The hand comes back and he feels the someone sit on the side of the bed. The voice tells him about the business district, and about how the Burmecians came back and helped, before going home to check on their lands. He nods in acknowledgement as the hand smoothes his hair back and occasionally uses some scrap of cloth to wipe away the sweat. The voice tells him that it's going to be alright, and unlike Marcus, it sounds one hundred percent sure. It tells him that yes, people have died, but they're alright, and in the grand scheme of things, they've gotten off pretty easy.

He asks if Marcus will be okay, and it responds that he will, because he's not going to be alone. He asks if he's going to die and it says, honestly I don't know, but I don't think so. He smiles and quips that hell, at least it's being honest, and then asks if Alexandria did this.

The voice wavers but then says not directly, no. Garnet didn't do this.

At the queen's real name – not Dagger as Tantalus still referred to her – Blank feels suddenly very tired.

Heavier boots are tromping around outside of the broken building and the hand suddenly pulls away.

"I'm going to go now, okay?" the voice asks.

"This is a stupid question," he rasps, "But are you an angel?"

The voice giggles. "No, silly – though, that's very nice of you. Most people call me a brat. I'll see you again soon, okay? Your friend's back and I can't have him seeing me right now."

"...Alright," he gasps, "Thank you."

"Your welcome." The soft leather shoes move away and he knows he's alone.

Marcus comes back in a few minutes later and asks, "Where did you find a quilt?"

Blank hears the question, half-muffled through his head, and smiles. "I made it up."

* * *

Garnet isn't sure if she's the only one awake anymore. She knows that Steiner has dozed off, and that Beatrix had gone back out after supper to scout ahead... Lani had yawned noisily about an hour ago, and Amarant...

Amarant's always quiet.

She sits up from her spot between where Beatrix will be and where Steiner is, and refrains from looking around, so as to save herself the letdown.

The fire crumbles suddenly, and she hears a branch settle heavily on the ground, so she asks, "...Amarant?"

"What?" the bounty hunter responds lowly.

She stands unsteadily and steps to the side, away from Steiner, before making her careful way to the warmth of the fire. She bumps into Amarant's arm and determines that he put it out to stop her from walking into the fire, so she asks, "Is it alright to sit here?"

He grunts and moves something away from her before muttering, "Yeah, it's alright."

She carefully sits down and crosses her legs, looking in the direction of the heat from the fire.

"How does South Gate look?" she asks.

"Completely decimated," he responds, and she hears him pick up the stick again to poke the fire. "Not a lot of bodies, though. Don't think there were many here when Bahamut came through."

He adds, after a moment, "If it was Bahamut."

Garnet looks away from the fire.

"It's creepy, you staring at me without seeing me."

She blushes and looks the other way. "I didn't mean to."

They again hit uncomfortable silence and Garnet sighs quietly to herself.

"...You should wash your face," Amarant says suddenly, quietly. "You still have tear-tracks."

She blinks and then rubs at her face. "Oh, no..."

There's a hissing noise and then he takes her hand away and puts a warm, wet scrap of cloth into it.

"...Thank you," she mumbles, feeling very foolish, and wipes at her face. "Is this better?"

"No," Amarant sighs quietly, "Now you look like you're about to cry again."

She closes her eyes and holds her hand out, palm up, with the rag. He takes it and she curls her hand into a fist and punches him on the shoulder – it glances to the side but it's still effective.

"What the hell was that for?"

"For being an ass."

She looks towards the heat of the fire and he chuckles. "You've got better aim than I do."

She's quiet again and feels tears prickling at the back of her eyelids, so she closes her eyes and wipes them away. She shouldn't be crying – she doesn't have _time_ to cry. She needs to be strong like everyone else because Zidane would hate for her to be so upset over him. "It's alright," he'd say, "Don't cry just because of me! You know I hate it when beautiful women cry."

Her hand is suddenly pulled from her knee and she blinks. "What are you doing?" she asks Amarant.

"Giving you something."

She frowns and looks in his direction, hearing him rustling through his bag.

She feels him press something into her hand and then close her fingers with a strange sort of care around a group of stems – they must be stems because they're too loose and... alive feeling to be just sticks.

"What is it?" she asks, pulling her hand back and using her other hand to feel the stems upwards. She feels several thick clumps of small, leafy flowers.

He coughs and says quietly, "Flowers."

She almost wants to laugh at his kind of bashful statement, but there's a certain heavy feeling emanating from the bounty hunter that keeps her from doing so.

"They're from the Ice Cavern," he mutters, and she hears him poking at the fire again. "Picked them there because... well, it doesn't matter anymore. They're probably no good..."

"I'm sure they're beautiful," she sighs, "But you know I can't see them."

"...Eh, you'll eventually get your sight back. They'll be around."

She almost cries but says instead, "They'll wilt long before I get my sight back, Amarant."

He chuckles. "No, princess, those flowers don't wilt."

"All flowers wilt."

"Their ancestors grew only around the fountain of life," he says, voice gaining a kind of reverent tone, "And the only water they got was from that fountain. Eventually, some people found the fountain but didn't know what it was. They picked the flowers around it because they were rare, and eventually the flowers were growing all over the place. No one's seen one wilted... even the ones that the people first picked." He chuckles, "At least, that's what Lani told me."

"Lani?"

"Yeah. She talks an awful lot." He's quiet again and mumbles something under his breath about new claws, before saying in a low voice, "The mon... Zidane. He told me that whole spiel too."

"...Zidane...?"

"He'd stay up late, and I don't sleep much. We talked, every so often... he found one of those flowers when he was scouting ahead. Told me about it – said more than Lani had."

Garnet closes her eyes and thinks about this. In the four years she had been with Zidane, he had never mentioned late night chats with Amarant... then again; he never thought some things were important. He talked with everyone, and it was stupid to think that he wouldn't have talked with Amarant at least once.

"...I'm not going to be very well off for the next few days," Amarant cuts into her thoughts. "If I start... well, this is one of them, but if I start talking strangely... just don't worry about it, alright?"  
"Does this have something to do with whatever happened on the plains?" she asks, "Because I might be able to..."

"...It does, but you can't do anything. Just... hold onto those."

"...Amarant, why are you giving me flowers?"

He makes a noise and mumbles, "Everyone else had seen them. It's supposed to be... good luck, or something, to see them. And, you know, you're our healer. I figured you should get a chance to see them – since we need a healer more than ever now."

Garnet feels the flowers in her hands and then smiles. "This is the most I've ever heard you say, Amarant."

He breathes out heavily. "I've got hundreds of things to say, princess... but now's not the time."

"Why in the world not?" she pouts slightly, trying weakly to play with him.

"...There will never be a good time to say what I want to say." He shifts and then says, "You should go back to Rusty and get some sleep. We might reach Lindblum by sundown, if we wake up early enough."

Garnet wants to press the issue but knows better. Instead, she merely nods and asks him to help her in the right direction.

He stands and helps her up, hand on her shoulder and moving her away from the fire and to Steiner.

When she settles back down into her spot, she hears him move away, heading back towards the fire.

"...Thank you for the flowers."

He doesn't respond and that relieves her, because if he had she just might've started to cry again.

* * *

She's been having this... strange feeling, for the last few days. It's like a heavy weight has settled in her stomach and every time she tries to rid herself of it, it only grows.

Her dreams have been more incoherent than normal. All she can gather from them is that something is happening on the Mist continent... but for some reason, she can't bring her brother's face to mind.

That disturbs her greatly, and so she goes to see one of the few people who could help her.

He's standing at the graveyard, as some of the old models used to, and as some of his older brothers had, and she lowers her eyes for a moment to the rows of graves, all fenced in now with a fairly nice wooden fence that Haruko and Tomo had made for the village.

He feels her presence before he sees her, and turns his head to face her. "Good morning," he greets amiably. "How are you doing today?"

She smiles, though she doesn't feel like she should, and responds, "I am fairly well. Yourself?"

"...Okay, I guess... I'm still upset about Mr. 87..."

"My condolences. I know you two were close."

"It's okay." He turns fully to her and frowns. "Mikoto, what's wrong? You look... upset."

"...I have a bad feeling in my stomach," she tells him honestly. "And I can't quite get my brother's face correct in my head. My dreams are giving me bad feelings towards the Mist Continent. It feels... very turbulent... and I don't have any sense of my brother at all."

Mikoto's feelings have always been very... attuned to the world – she says it's because she spent so long studying Gaia, but it's really just how most Genomes are. She just never lost the ability. When he hears her complaints, he always takes them very seriously.

"When I got a bad feeling, it was right when Mr. 87..."

Mikoto suddenly feels a little ill. "You don't think that... perhaps...?"

"...I don't know, Mikoto. I hope not, but... Everything's been feeling strange lately. Like..."

"Ominous."

"...Yeah." He turns away and looks to the graves. "I don't want to give you advice if I don't know everything, Mikoto."

"...I understand," she responds, and leaves him alone. She can find someone else to talk to... so long as she doesn't start a panic.

Pitsel Ornitier kneels down in front of grave three in row six, the closest row to him. "...Dad? What's going on?"

He knows he won't get an answer, but there's no harm in trying.


	8. Comfort Foods

They eat leftover stew for breakfast and keep themselves warm with the half-dead fire. It's unusually cold – even for the upper mountains. Steiner sits with his sword across his lap, studying it for damage and hoping that Lindblum will be alright.

Amarant is fitting the three legs from the monster onto one of the leather work gloves he had stolen from a dead trolley attendant. He had kept the legs in the fire most of the night, and had, earlier, bent them into a razor sharp curve. Steiner doesn't understand how he did it but there's a rock with deep black marks on it, and his hands look stiff and sore.

Lani is trying to figure a way to carry the leftover stew but Steiner knows that there's no way to do it. Their best bet is to pour out the broth and wrap the meat separately...

She does just this and he shakes his head.

Beatrix is doing her morning stretches; every day since Steiner's known the woman, she's always done them. He understands her need to be ready for anything – but then again, he doesn't usually need to be. Sword fighting is a bit different from what Beatrix does on a regular basis.

Garnet is staring at the dying fire, sitting next to Amarant and holding something Steiner can't quite see in his lap. He worries about his Queen... She is trying to be strong and he's not quite sure how she's going about it... is staying close to Amarant part of that process? He knows Amarant is strong – stronger than most of them, excluding Beatrix – but he seems so strange right now and is mumbling lowly to himself. Maybe Garnet thinks that she can absorb some of his strength for herself.

"We should start heading out," the bounty hunter finally says, raising his glove up to examine it. He clenches his fist and the legs, which had been hanging between his knuckles, snap up into razor sharp points. He smirks and loosens his fist.

"Handy around the camp, aren't you Red?" Lani drawls; he grins at her.

"If we move at a fairly good pace," Beatrix determines, looking over the ruins of South Gate, "We could very well reach Lindblum by nightfall."

"If not, we'll get damned close," Amarant agrees. "Shouldn't be too hard... Lindblum's a chocobo's paradise. We might be able to round up a few."

Steiner stands and sheathes his sword – he feels more confident with it than before, but he knows that if they were to need his sword... he might not be able to help.

Lani has picked up another burlap sack full of potions, elixirs, antidotes – anything that she and Amarant could salvage from the items shop was packed away, along with half a dozen near-ripe carrots, a bundle of potatoes, and several scraps of clothing. She lifts up a thick piece of lumber – no doubt part of a support beam for some building or other – and takes a swipe at the air.

"...Should find some metal for a blade. You think you could fashion one for me, Red?"

Amarant shrugs and waves a hand, nodding once in acceptance.

Lani grins and says, "Give me ten minutes and I'll be ready to go," before heading off towards the trolleys. Steiner follows her with his eyes and then turns to Amarant.

"What happened to her axe?"

"She left it in Treno, before we went drinking," he responds dully, clenching and unclenching his fist and testing the strength of the bands. "She'll find it when we go back."

The idea of _when_ hasn't really crossed Steiner's mind lately. He's been rather caught up with _if_.

* * *

"Ugh."

Alleyway Jack leans against a ruined building, looking around Treno in annoyance. He had assumed that only Alexandria Castle was the recipient of divine justice... and he had immediately left to get out of the way of those strong, sturdy people. He didn't want to hinder their work. He even took a few gil from some houses – to help with the cleanup.

But Treno has been utterly decimated, and the few healers had barely been able to satisfy the wounded. Thieves are running rampant and the bounty hunters are making sport of it – Jack winces when he hears someone shriek and a thud of a body.

The townhouses are deserted in upper ring, so he heads that way and makes quick work of a few Fangs who had come into the city to eat the dead. He hates monsters, but he hates dead people more.

The ring is rank with the smell of these poor people and he decides to lighten their post-mortal load by relieving them of some of their worldly possessions.

Among his scouring, he finds the deep pit that was once the Treno Inn. Here he stops, and puts a hand to his heart in reverence – he had liked the innkeeper, who had let him stay for free a few times. It was a shame that people like that lived in Treno... they always got the short end of the stick.

With a shrug he turns to continue and finds something glinting in the morning sun.

"What's this?" he wonders aloud, snaking around heavy chunks of rock and bodies. He realizes, suddenly, that he's looking on an axe much larger than any he's seen before, and thinks on it for a moment. The blade looks sharp and has a few jewels embedded into it, along with a shard of crystal at the end of the handle.

He grins; if anyone had been around, they might've been reminded of a rat. "Well, _that's_ interesting."

He pries the axe out of the ground and heaves it up. It's heavy but at the same time it feels... light. As if it was supporting itself.

He smiles and appraises the metal of the blade and the sturdy wood of the handle. "Well. Who's to say that the dead don't leave anything behind?"

With his mind set on Daguerreo, a place he _knows_ will give him an excellent price on this fine weapon, Alleyway Jack saunters off, carrying the axe he had owned it for years.

* * *

Amarant doesn't say anything but he once walked South Gate, when the trolleys were still down from the absence of Mist. It had taken him a full day, without stopping.

It had only taken them four hours, with two short breaks for water and rest. They stop, once they reach what used to be the main Lindblum entrance to South Gate, and stare at the region ahead of them.

Ahead, he can hear Garnet ask Steiner, "Can you see Lindblum Castle?"

The knight looks in desolate wonder at the ruined fields across the river and gulps a little, looking to the rest of their group for advice.

"...Your majesty," Beatrix mumbles, and that's all the Queen needs to hear. Her face goes carefully blank and she looks in the direction of Burmecia, eyes dry and mouth moving a little in a silent... what, eulogy? Amarant's not sure. Maybe a prayer. Maybe self-condemnation.

Amarant never liked Lindblum. It was big, and noisy, and it reeked of oil and gysahl pickles. People were obnoxious there, and tended to stare at him more than other places. They always had their heads in the clouds, which seemed to be located in their asses half the time.

But the fact that he can't see the goddamned castle unnerves him and he finally realizes that there might not be any _when_. This could very well turn out to be an _if_ situation.

Lani stands with her arms crossed and eyes set grimly ahead, mouth perfectly straight and body language shouting "I am going to die."

He goes to her and puts a hand on her shoulder – she glares for a moment longer at the nonexistent castle before turning to him.

"We better get moving," she tells him, with her eyes reading more than just "I'm going to die" – more of a, "We're all going to die, Red, why did you let me come with you if you knew that?"

He wants to tell her he didn't know, and hell, he wouldn't have come either if he had, but she's already turning away. Besides, she wouldn't hear him anyways.

Lani's the first one to start across the ragged fields, towards the thick forests in the distance. Beatrix follows after her, leaving Steiner, Amarant, and Garnet alone.

"Your Majesty..." Steiner begins, but she quietly cuts him off.

"I can catch up. Give me a moment, please."

He frowns and looks up at the nonexistent castle and Amarant nods to him, signaling that he can stay and wait for her if he'd rather keep up with his wife.

He thanks the other male silently and heads across the field himself.

"The castle is completely gone, isn't it?" she asks.

"...I don't want to lie to you."

She sighs quietly and holds her hand out towards him; he takes it for a second and then says, "We need to keep moving."

She nods, and responds, "We'll figure everything out when we talk to Eiko."

* * *

Lani forces her eyes away from the empty mountain ridge and finds them landing on Beatrix, who has taken up the lead of their little band.

She kind of likes the other woman. She's a tough bitch, that's for sure – Lani doesn't know if she'd be able to handle all that's happened to everyone seemingly close to the General, if it were her suffering. After all, Beatrix's good sir knight got his arm whacked off, and her queen is using Amarant as a seeing eye dog; not to mention the fact that she's going to get scarred up and just overall unhappy in the next few days, weeks, or months.

Her hand instinctively goes to her nose and feels the bump there; she mentally curses Amarant for saving her from that fall. He broke her goddamned nose! She can feel it off center and knows she must look like _shit_.

One of the few things Lani cares about more than jewels and a good time is her appearance. After all, what's the use of jewels if you don't look good enough to sport them? And no one wants to have fun with an ugly _hag_...

It's really not so bad, she supposes – at least she's not like Amarant. He's busted up pretty badly – she hadn't wanted to tell him but that stupid idiot healer had done him in. Not that it matters to him – she knows exactly how his mind works and his own appearance isn't usually a factor.

She smirks. He could probably still get a few attractive wenches, what with this end-of-the-world situation.

Her stomach twists slightly at this idea and she frowns. End-of-the-world.

She hadn't thought she'd be alive to see it.

She feels someone almost trying to sneak up on her, so she turns her head to see good sir knight kind of skulking behind her but not really. She frowns; something about that guy just doesn't... sit right with her.

Might be because he's missing an arm, but she's not going to place judgment on him.

"You can skulk around but I can still feel you," she drawls casually, and he looks at her in surprise, before shaking his head and starting on some apology or rebuttal. She taps her ear and says, "I'm still deaf as a post."

He flushes in embarrassment and mumbles an apology – she's getting used to how mouths move when talking, and can kind of pick up words... or at least parts of them.

"Keep up with your lady, knight. She might need protection. Quit sneaking about."

She's surprised at the look on his face when she mentions his wife – a kind of sad, half ruined expression that signals that she's hit a chink in good sir knight's armor. She keeps her eyes on the ground in front and decides not to talk anymore.

It's like all the animals are gone. Lani's never seen the plains so absolutely deserted, and she wonders where they could have possibly run off to... She used to see chocobos around this area all the time...

The river is clouded with dirt and plants, but they stop for a drink nonetheless. Lani reaches down and cups some water in her hands, eyeing it critically before glancing upstream.

"...Hold on," she growls, dropping the water back into the stream, "We can't drink this."

Amarant gives her a confused look so she points upstream; a half-submerged chocobo with a broken, mangled neck and rotting head is trapped in the vines.

Amarant waves them off of the river and must be telling them that they should just keep moving, because Steiner is standing and Beatrix is leading Garnet towards the bridge. The bounty hunter brushes past Steiner, who looks briefly at Lani and then holds out a hand, nodding to one of the two sacks she's carrying.

Lani casts a doubtful eye on him but hands over the heavier of the two. Together, with Steiner only slightly behind Lani, they follow the other three down and across the bridge.

If they hadn't been in Lindblum territory before, they sure as hell were now. The grass is softer – the bits that haven't been torn from the ground – and the swamp is visible in the distance.

The only thing that's unusual and unnerving is that Lani can't feel the slight vibrations that airships cause as they fly around – but then again, who's around to fly them?

A shadow passes over them briefly and she sighs. The last thing they need is rain.

A deep roar penetrates her broken ears and she stops dead in her tracks.

Steiner is at her side now, with his sword in hand – not that it'll do a damned bit of good.

She's seen dragons before. Hell, she's seen a lot of things that could be construed as dragons. She realizes numbly that she's seen it all, now with the King of Dragons landing about thirty yards away.

Beatrix pulls Garnet backwards and Amarant is shouting at the Queen, who looks so scared and confused and _hurt_.

Bahamut hits the ground with a thud, sending heavy vibrations through the torn and loose dirt. She almost swears that He's _smirking_ at them. A cat who found the mice.

He lets out a deep growl that pierces the air around them and she wonders if he can talk – if he can be reasoned with just like any other...

Dragons don't like reasoning.

Garnet is crying out words that probably are meant to change Bahamut's feelings but his mouth is full of fire and he doesn't look to be in a reasonable mood.

She draws back and covers her head with her arms when He breathes out rivers of fire onto them, and feels her arms burning viciously and feels the ground shaking with every thudding step of the King, and all the while that goddamned old man's voice keeps coming back to her, telling her to Keep This In Mind.

She feels her shouting reverberate in her throat and pushes away from long talons grabbing her by the waist and hoisting her up, falling backwards against the cool, damp dirt.

It's not until she opens her eyes again and sees Amarant staring down at her in a confused, worried panic that she realizes she's hallucinating.

He mouths something frantically that she can't understand and she pulls her arm out of his tight grip, looking around in shock. Steiner and Beatrix are kneeling on either side of her, while Garnet is staring in their direction without knowing exactly what she's seeing.

Amarant mouths something again and then Beatrix says something, along the lines of "What happened." She's talking slower so her lips are easier to read and Lani's really grateful for that but she doesn't want to talk about it.

"Nothing – I'm just... thirsty. I need to lie down." She puts forth excuses and they nod to each other, agreeing silently above her that that's all she needs.

Amarant helps her up and holds her arm for a moment longer than necessary, pointing to the swamp in the distance and looking at her questioningly.

She nods and mumbles, "That's fine."

They pick up their pace once again, and Lani can't get Bahamut off her mind.

* * *

The swamp is the Qu tribe's home, and Quale makes an effort to make sure people know this when they enter. He only knows some Alexandrian and can't write it at all, so his one sign before the Long Grass is in the Qu language.

When he hears rustling grass he realizes that unfortunately, humans don't read Qu and therefore don't know he had asked all people not of the Qu to kindly remove themselves from the territory if they expected anything more than a lesson in the culinary arts.

Still thinking over this annoying new development, Quale descends the steps from his home and finds himself faced with the most bizarre group of humans ever. They are dirty, ragged... "Battered and fried" as his Master used to say.

One, missing an arm, sees Quale and asks in confusion, "Quina?"

"How you know Quina?" the Qu responds, eyes narrowing at the name of his student.

Now the nicest looking one speaks up, "...Quina was one of our friends."

That sentence doesn't sit right with Quale, but he can't figure out why. "Quina say monkey-tailed boy help it make many friends. If you friends of Quina, you welcome here." He looks them all over now, and frowns. "You look like bad boiled potatoes. All mush, no substance. Inside," he turns, "I make food."

He hears one of them sigh in relief and nods to himself – they _do_ know Quina.

When this new group of people enters, Quale settles them all down around his table and says, "You know Quina, so you know Qu custom. I cook, you clean."

The pretty one who had mentioned Quina first responds with a smile. "Of course."

He nods in confirmation and then goes to his stove. "You very lucky – I still have extra of chocobo. Spices, those harder to come by..."

"Do you know what happened to Lindblum?" says the heavily mashed red haired creature.

"The castle? No. I expect Quina will say when Quina come."

There's a silence and then the pretty one speaks up again. "There... Alexandria was heavily damaged a few nights ago. The castle... was destroyed."

"So? Your kingdom not my problem."

Now the other female, with short and ugly hair, informs him in a steady and apathetic voice, "Quina was in the castle at the time of the attack."

Quale shrugs. "So? Quina come out of big tree after it blow up – it tell me that miracle." He feels the heavy air and adds, "Even if Quina no escape, Quina live on for long time in imagination. Quina a good, smart Qu. If it no escape, then it not meant to escape." He chuckles, "All luck run out some time."

"You don't care?" the one-armed human asks, masking anger in confusion.

Quale shakes his head. "No. I care very much, but we Qu understand many things about world. Now, I make food."

He sets to dicing and chopping and boiling, and pays no attention to the quiet mutterings of his group of visitors.

* * *

Garnet has trouble eating with utensils, but luckily Quale doesn't mind if she simply uses her hands or drinks the rice and chocobo soup right out of the bowl. He tells her sympathetically that as long as she can eat, she'll be fine.

Something about the Qu's simple philosophies keeps her from thinking too long on unhappy matters. She ignores the majority of her that is screaming and focuses on the part that is just content to eat a good meal and listen to Quale tell them about Quina.

Quina, apparently, is one of the few Qu who hasn't yet decided on a gender. Quale tells them that most Qu can "choose," he supposes, what they're going to be by about age twelve.

Apparently, Quina was about twenty one.

She finds all of this interesting and can tell that the other's are clinging to the simple dialect of Quale's broken Alexandrian to keep their minds off other things... like Amarant's sudden mumbles about worlds and gravitational pull and the moon, and Lani's earlier outburst that had sent them here in the first place.

There's a sudden bang and something crashes against the ground. Amarant rasps, "Sorry," in a low and unconvincing voice.

"That alright," Quale replies with good humor, "I not cleaning, after all. I have plenty of dishes; all Qu are prepared." He laughs, "Some of us clumsy like new cook forever."

Garnet finds herself smiling and shakes her head, guiding roast chocobo to her mouth and complimenting Quale on his cooking. He's better than Quina.

"Of course," he responds, "I Quina's master. It hard for new cook to overcome master chef."

By the time they're finished, however, even Quale has picked up on their negativity and, as Steiner, Beatrix, and Amarant collect plates and start to clean up, Garnet feels him come over and take a seat beside her.

"What you so worried over? You all look battered but _you_," he puts a hand on her shoulder, "You have no look at all."

"...I'm blind," she rasps, and hears the group slow their movements to listen in.

"I not mean that. Blind still has sight, but it _inside_. You not looking inside to see." He sounds vaguely upset when he says, "You only blind physically, but you look blind completely."

She looks away from the direction of his voice and when he speaks again, it's muffled. She hears the question in his tone and sighs.

"I'm worried for Lindblum," she tells him, looking back in the direction of his voice.

"You worried for many things that you shouldn't. Castle still _there_, just much smaller than before. People still there, just much _smaller_. If you so worried, you should go there."

"We were on our way," Steiner's voice cuts in, "When..."

"Once you done with dishes," Quale says suddenly, "You move on to castle. I wait here – if castle need help from the Qu, I help." He addresses Garnet solely when he says, "But no worries now. See inside first, and you see outside next."

"Awfully philosophical for a bumpkin," Amarant grumbles lowly.

"I not one rambling about moons," the Qu responds.


	9. Dreamspeak

Steiner remembers the first time he had ever come to Lindblum, and compares that image with the city as it is now. He isn't happy with the results.

Getting up through Dragon's Gate had been extremely difficult but they had managed it, and now they're faced by demolished buildings and streets lined with the dead, dying, and injured. Alexandria had been one thing; he hadn't had time to go over the chaos and now he realizes he's going to have more time with Lindblum than his home.

The people, at first, are talking to one another, passing around water, and don't notice this new group of people.

Then, one of the more capable men looks up from talking to a small girl and sees them. His eyes widen and he goes over them each in surprise, nearly smiling in relief because help's finally arrived, before recognizing the Queen and frowning in confusion.

"What are..." His eyes narrow and he stands to his full height – which isn't very threatening at all – and exclaims, "What are _you_ doing here?"

Steiner frowns but restrains himself from reprimanding the young man as an even younger looking girl comes towards them, frowning worriedly.

"What is it?" she asks the man, not taking her eyes off of their group for even a second. "What's the matter?"

"This is the Queen of Alexandria!" he exclaims, face growing red and eyes narrowing in anger, "I told you all!" He points at Garnet, who can't see and therefore doesn't bat an eye, "What, are you here to seize our city, now that you've demolished it?"

The Queen draws back against Steiner and asks in a weak, upset voice, "What?"

The boy feels empowered and so he stalks forward, "You called Odin onto us! We know that He's _your_ power. You called Him down and destroyed our city so that we'd be too incapacitated to fight back when you came to-"

Barely a second between the words and suddenly Amarant has the boy by the collar, driving him harshly into the wall and earning a strangled shriek.

"How _dare you-_"

"Amarant!" Lani calls

"-assume that she would do _anything like that_, you filthy-"

"_Help_!" the boy screams, "They're going to kill me!"

"_Shut up_!" Amarant snarls, knocking the boy against the wall. There's a sickening crack and the boy cries out.

"Amarant!"

The bounty hunter suddenly draws back and drops the boy to the ground, turning half-way to face Garnet, who is staring ahead but speaking to him, eyes narrowed.

"That is _enough_."

The girl almost goes to the boy but then she thinks twice about it and instead takes a few steps forward, towards Garnet.

"...Miss... Your majesty?"

"I'm sorry," the queen rasps weakly, "I can't see. Alexandria was attacked as well, and I was blinded in the blast."

The boy shudders and Amarant kicks him once, before stepping back and returning to the queen's side.

Steiner looks to the hunter and finds him seething, with his eye socket slightly visible through a slit in his eyelids. The knight winces and looks away.

"I'm sorry," the girl continues, "We... We're just very confused right now. The Burmecian King was here, earlier, but he left last night... and we don't know where the Regent is. Please..." She steps forward cautiously, "Can you help us?"

Garnet closes her eyes and nods her head once, slowly. "We came to find the Regent's daughter. Has she been found?"

The girl shakes her head and then, remembering what the queen had said, responds, "No... She hasn't been found yet."

An old woman of about fifty rounds a newly formed corner and comes up beside the girl, who turns in confusion and then blushes.

"_Miss_," the old woman says sternly, "What are you doing? There are many people who still haven't had water today..."

She sees their group and gasps in surprise.

"Who are you?"

"This is the Queen of Alexandria, ma'am," the girl mumbles sheepishly, "She came to help us find the Regent's daughter."

"My _god_, what a sorry lot," the woman finally states, crossing her arms in a decidedly self-righteous pose. "Not much of an entourage, your majesty."

Amarant growls lowly and Steiner is reminded of a beast.

"We didn't come here to be insulted," the bounty hunter snaps.

She turns a watchful eye onto him and then sighs, dropping the stuffy demeanor.

"We'll need to stitch that shut," she tells the hunter in a sympathetic voice, "To prevent infection. The healer who helped you – what condition was she in?"

"A dead one," he snarls.

The woman nods and then looks their group over again, before turning to the girl. "Take them to the hospital... See that someone takes care of his eye, and that they all get water."

"...Yes, ma'am."

The woman turns back and says, "Your majesty, forgive me for putting you with everyone else at the moment, but right now, royalty doesn't hold much sway over us. We have no choice but to treat you as everyone else... surely, you understand?"

The queen smiles weakly and nods. "I wouldn't accept anything different," she tells the woman, who seems pleased by that response.

When the old maid is gone, the girl gives them a half-curtsy and says, "If you'll follow me... we set up a temporary hospital for those who needed to get out of the sun right away. It's... not a very pleasant sight, I'm afraid."

"You expect any of this to be pleasant?" Amarant grumbles.

The girl smiles and shakes her head. "I don't expect anything. Follow me, please."

She leads them through the broken streets and Steiner feels nauseous.

* * *

By the time night falls, there are scattered bonfires and people all over the business district. Once the sun sets, the heat dissipates and the people can finally come out and not suffer from heat strokes and dehydration – each and every bonfire, some reaching as high as six feet, have huge makeshift boilers in them to decontaminate the water. There was a rumor, earlier, that someone had found a stockpile of tea, and that had been rather... exciting for the people. Steiner thinks that's kind of depressing.

The barely upright building that is serving as a hospital has three stories – the third of which is nearly completely demolished. The second floor has the most rooms, and as such, the group has been spread out among them, sharing with other people who talk and laugh and are just so _nice_ to them... Steiner can't figure it out. Their homes are destroyed, and their lives are ruined, but other than that one boy... everyone seems content with the way things are going.

He mentions this to Beatrix, who shrugs and says that it's natural. "They're lucky to be alive – surely they see that."

She then leaves with Amarant and Garnet, to take a look at the castle and try to help anyone who might need it.

Steiner sits on the bed that he and Beatrix have been given and looks across the room at the window – this room is so small that the one bed takes up nearly half the space, and there's no room for much else.

He doesn't know why he's staying inside, instead of going with his wife, but... He feels the ghost sensation of his arm for a split moment and shakes his head.

What good could he possibly do?

Soft tapping against the broken window reminds him that it's been raining on and off since twilight – the clouds have moved from Burmecia and are now making a valiant effort to drown out the bonfires keeping survivors warm and happy.

The girl had earlier mentioned that the Burmecians had been here – he had known that they were supposed to be having their bi-annual conference with Lindblum over the protection of their borders. Why had they stayed?

He wonders where Eiko could possibly be.

"Red!"

Lani's voice echoes through the broken door and Steiner staggers to it, feeling suddenly tired and depressed. Rain does that to him.

He opens the door and finds the bounty hunter looking down the stairwell to the lower level of the hospital, and so he reaches out and grabs her shoulder.

She spins and nearly dislocates his wrist, before realizing that it's just _Steiner_. He can't do any harm.

"Where's Amarant at?" she asks.

Steiner makes a vague motion with his hand and points down the stairs.

"He went out, huh? Figures, he wouldn't wait for me. Your lady wonder and queen gone, too?"

He nods.

She chuckles. "Of course, leave the invalids to waste away. I'm getting some sleep, then, if that's the case. Unless this place starts burning down, don't make any efforts to save me, okay?"

He frowns in confusion and asks, "Why would I try to save you?" But she already has her back turned and she's deaf, so the question is left to flounder and then die.

With a short look inside the room, Steiner shuts the door on its one hinge and goes downstairs.

The truly injured and incapacitated are lying on makeshift beds and cots – some of these are beds with a missing leg or board, propped up by bricks; others are not much more than a stack of hay and a tattered blanket. The rooms upstairs have similar situations, though the beds are generally better off.

There are people missing arms, like himself; some are missing legs, fingers, eyes, ears, noses – some are heavily bandaged and some aren't. He moves through the heavily packed rows of people and reaches the open wall of the building, looking up to admire the handwork above. Instead of open sky, he's faced with a mismatched and holey blanket that stretches from the floor of the third story all the way to the building across the street, creating a kind of open air market of dead bodies and dying people.

He feels increasingly morbid and quickly makes his way out.

"Hey."

One of the invalids – an old man with his left side of his face heavily bandaged and his arm in a complicated sling – is staring at him so he forces himself to stop by.

"Hello."

"Yer one of those guys from Alexandria, aren't you?"

The knight winces a little because he doesn't want another incident like the one when they arrived. He nods, all the same.

The old man sighs. "The name's Locke."

The knight almost gives the old man his title, rank, and full name, but what good would that do anyone? "Steiner."

The man grins and is missing half of his teeth, some from old age but most knocked out, leaving bloody gums. "You all here to help?"

"We're going to try," he responds weakly.

"First Burmecia, now Alexandria." The man chuckles, "What about our kingdom? When do we get to help?" He groans slightly and says, "No matter. I'm content to sleep in for the first time in years... Go on, kid," he drawls, "Help out some of us Lindblum folk at the fires. See you."

Steiner nods his goodbye and continues out of the hospital.

The closest bonfire is surrounded by healers, who are talking in low, quiet voices about the patients under their care and are making predictions on who might live. It's morbid talk and Steiner passes them by easily enough.

The rain starts up again, and though it's light, he's not used to feeling it and it kind of makes him cold. He's always worn armor out on the streets, so rain never penetrated... but now, wearing clothing from a play – not meant for _real_ work, but still useful enough – he feels each drop and it annoys him.

He realizes he just passed by another fire and is nearing a third – the one closest to the theatre district. The group here is mixed; some of them are injured people not in the hospital, others are girls who don't have anywhere to go, and still others are old men and women who are in the same situation as the girls.

He listens to them talking for a long time. They talk about the weather, about the water, about their family and friends who have died; they talk about the destruction and the fires and the theatre district.

It's then that Steiner remembers Zidane had friends in the theatre district. He wonders if they're alright, and thinks about trying to get over there sometime in the next few days.

First, however... they have to find Eiko.

He eventually wanders back to the hospital and checks on Locke briefly – the old man is asleep. At least, Steiner hopes it's just sleep, but he can't be sure. He could be dead, for all he knows.

The stairs creak under him and he leans against the wall outside the room he and Beatrix have, staring up at the dented and broken ceiling. This whole building is amazing, he realizes, because while even the people are falling down around it, it can support them all.

A strangled shriek pierces the air and so, as duty dictates, Steiner tries to pinpoint where it came from. It was definitely upstairs...

He thinks for a moment and then, against his better judgment, he starts down the narrow and unsteady hallway towards Lani's room. Something about her earlier attack sits wrong with the knight and her insistence that he _not_ save her doesn't make it any easier to push her away.

He pushes the door open and finds Lani tossing and turning in the rickety old bed, in danger of falling off, with her neighbor sleeping soundly in the bed next to her. He goes to her side and grabs her shoulder, shaking her and refraining from talking since she wouldn't be able to hear anyways.

She jerks sharply and he pulls back just in time to avoid a well-thrown punch. When she realizes she's hit air, she pushes herself up into a sitting position and glares sleepily around until she sees Steiner. The knight has already turned his head away, having realized quickly that the bounty huntress was sleeping in the nude.

"What the hell?" she growls, and when he turns back, she's pulled the ratty blanket up around her chest. "I thought I told you: no heroics."

He stares at her for a minute, debating on whether or not he should say anything. He finally mouths out, "What happened?"

She sighs and shifts. "Why would you care?"

He wants to tell her that they're comrades – no matter how unlikely the whole situation is – and that if there's a problem with one of them, there will be a problem with everyone later. He can't explain this to her, however, without her being able to hear, so he just shrugs and gives her a look that he hopes conveys everything properly.

It must, because she says now, "Don't go telling your missus or anyone, alright?"

He doesn't like keeping things from Beatrix, but... She and Amarant have a secret. It'd be almost poetic to have the same with Amarant's companion... so he nods in agreement.

"Back on the fields, I..." She glances to the neighbor, then sighs and says, "I saw Bahamut." At Steiner's alarmed expression, she adds, "Only, it wasn't real. I was just... hallucinating it all, I guess. Who knows? You get crazy when you're at the end of the world. But, it _felt_ real." She looks to her arms, folded across her chest to hold the blanket in place, "I was on fire, and He tried to lift me up. And in the back of my head, I kept hearing that old man talking. He kept saying 'keep this in mind,' only what the hell am I supposed to keep in mind?"

She sighs and shakes her head, looking back to Steiner in annoyance. "So I figured I could sleep on it. Maybe get some answers from my brain, or something."

She doesn't continue so he prompts with, "Did you?"

She only gets the general idea of what he said and shrugs. "Maybe."

He waves a hand, prompting her to continue, so she shakes her head. "I had... a dream, I guess. Everything was black, but... there was something _there_. Like the dark was _alive_, is the only way I can explain it. And then I realized that all around me, there were these huge, glossy black feathers... Something about it unnerved me." She looks away. "It wasn't good, whatever it was."

Steiner is stuck in that difficult place that women often put him in – the one where he could either comfort them in some way, or just nod and go about his business. He doesn't know which way to act around a lot of women, but Lani is a lot like Beatrix. So he simply nods and offers her a quick hand on the shoulder, which earns him in return a smirk.

"No heroics. I'm trying to sleep, sir knight." She lies back down and pulls the blanket over her head, revealing her feet and lower legs. "Oh, and don't worry about waking up the woman there – she's been dead for the last hour or so."

He winces suddenly and looks to the neighboring bed.

"I just wonder if the father knew."

He gets up and leaves quickly, closing the door firmly behind him and heading downstairs to inform someone of this development. When he catches sight of one of the healers and tells them that the woman has died, she sighs and shakes her head.

"She was expecting, too," she says quietly and goes off to arrange for the body to be removed.

* * *

Amarant doesn't like staring into fires very much. It tends to draw him in and makes him think about things that he would rather not think about at all.

But there's not much else to do right now, with Beatrix still scouring the castle for remains of royalty and Garnet sitting beside him with her eyes half closed and joining him in thinking of things they both don't want to. She doesn't need a fire to do that.

"Past your bedtime, princess," he finally drawls, trying to pull himself out of the bonfire that has this group of survivors entranced.

She squeezes her eyes shut briefly and then opens them again – a force of habit, he assumes, more than necessity – and shaking her head.

"Why do you keep calling me a princess?" she asks.

"Because everyone else calls you a queen."

She doesn't respond and he sighs, leaning back and looking at the clouds above. "Looks like Burmecia's adding insult to injury."

"Is it going to rain again?"

He wonders if idle banter is really worth it right now. Hell, he doesn't even know how to _do_ idle banter.

"It might." He looks to her and since she can't see, she won't notice if he actually studies her this time. No one else is around – no one that would care, at least. "...You look tired."

"I'm perfectly fine."

"I didn't say you weren't." He thinks about it for a minute and then shakes his head. "You're not fine, either way, but I'm not asking questions."

"I... I beg your _pardon_?"

He smirks. "You look so royal when you get fussy."

Her face kind of softens and she looks in some random direction away from Amarant's voice, and he looks into the fire again. Ever since dinner, his head's been running calculations like a goddamned mathematician in Daguerreo, but he can't quite figure out when he's going to have another... whatever the hell it is. He doesn't know how many more he's going to have, because he wasn't even thinking when he had used that spell. It had been a kind of fight-or-flight reaction, and now he wishes he had at least _tried_ to think of how much gravity that worm needed to be smacked around with... other than _a whole lot_.

A whole lot is probably the rest of his life.

There's a light pressure against his shoulder and he looks down to find Garnet leaning against him, eyes closed. He frowns and looks away.

He's screaming inside because of her, but he isn't about to say anything. He hopes Lani wasn't angry that he had left her alone – then he immediately wonders why he cares. Lani isn't really important to him; not in the grand scheme of things. She's important, yeah, but he could name a few people who were higher on his list of priorities at the moment.

Garnet, for example.

It starts to rain again and Amarant puts his arm over Garnet's shoulders, trying a little to keep her from getting soaked, and turns his eye back to the fire.

Some things he doesn't want to think about are better than thinking about this.


	10. Tied With A Ribbon

Steiner doesn't know what Beatrix found a few nights ago in the ruins of the Grand Castle, but it's put her in a very melancholy, irate mood.

It's driving the knight absolutely crazy, because this is the second thing in a week that she has kept from him, and that Amarant seems to have some kind of hint about.

It's not that Steiner is a jealous man by _any_ means. He is devoted to his wife and _knows_ her; if there were truly any issues going on between them, he would have been told by now. So the real fact of the matter is that this has nothing to _do_ with him – which makes it all the more worrisome. What if there's something wrong with either her or Amarant? The queen holds them both in high regard, and so does Steiner – though a bit reluctantly on Amarant's part – and it wouldn't do _anyone_ good if either should be unable to help Garnet.

He's not sure where Beatrix is at the moment; all he knows is that she's with the queen. He thinks that they're probably trying to find Regent Cid, or Eiko.

He _does_ know where Amarant and Lani are, however, and decides that he needs answers that Amarant most certainly has. So he waits until the healers have made their rounds upstairs and then heads down, ducking his head against the sun as he exits the hospital and starts towards where he assumes the two bounty hunters are.

Amarant is at the top of the pile of rubble separating the north shopping district from the rest of the district, sitting on a large rock and sorting through a rotting corpse's belongings. Lani, lower down on the wall, is picking through the rubble and has an array of household items and food that hasn't quite gone bad yet, along with some jewelry and a small pile of gil.

"What are you doing?" the knight asks warily – wearily.

"What do you think, Rusty?" Amarant holds up a long string of pearls that glint in the sunlight, and grins sickly, "Think _she's_ gonna need it?"

"That's – you're _ravaging_ dead bodies?"

"Not just the bodies," the hunter replies amicably, "But the houses too."

Lani takes this moment to look up, and spots Steiner.

"What are you doing out here, knight? Don't you have a queen to protect or something?" She grumbles and turns back to counting out some gil in her head, "Seems like all he does is mope around."

Amarant winces a little and throws a small bit of plaster at her head, earning a glare.

"She's found a lot of food that hasn't gone bad yet," the redhead tells Steiner, "It'll probably do someone good."

Steiner watches Lani count for a few more moments, running over the comment on his moping, and then looks up at Amarant in determination.

"I'm not here to reprimand you. What you do is... your business. I'm here about Beatrix."

Amarant takes this moment to bite into a piece of gold and growls, throwing it away. "Who the hell carries fake gil around nowadays?"

"Amarant!"

"What _about_ her?" the bounty hunter asks, looking at the knight from under greasy, dirty dreadlocks. "She isn't here, if that's what you're asking."

"I want to know what happened to make her so..." Steiner can't think of the right word so he waves his hand, hoping that the other male will get the gist.

"Well," he growls, frowning in annoyance – and maybe anger. "First, her kingdom's been reduced to cinders, as has its neighboring regency. Second, her queen is blind and is silently suffering over her _beloved's_ death." He spits the word "beloved" out and makes Steiner wince, but doesn't acknowledge this and continues. "Third, her husband – that's _you_ – has recently lost his arm and isn't in any condition mentally or physically to protect the borders of neither regency nor kingdom. And _fourth_, she's been faced with death, chaos, and destruction for about a week straight now with less than an hour of sleep a day."

He crosses the arms of the corpse and then puts a rag over its face, before looking back down at Steiner again. "If you ask me, I think she's got a lot of reasons to be pretty _whatever_."

The knight tries to form some sort of rebuttal but all the facts are laid out in front of him. It'd be damned hard to counter them and both hunter and knight realize this.

Steiner turns away and says, "I'm going to go do something productive – such as help the living, instead of helping myself to the dead."

He marches off, intent on showing that he is _not_ moping around, and that he is perfectly capable of helping.

* * *

Beatrix stands about a meter away from her queen; arms crossed and face deceptively blank and apathetic. Garnet is kneeling in the rubble of the Grand Castle, head low and hair hiding her face from view.

"A...Are w-we sure th-that it's him?" the girl asks in a quiet, broken voice.

"...Yes. I am sure."

The General doesn't tell her queen that the only way she knows is because of the clothing. The body is beyond recognition.

"Your majesty," Beatrix begins, realizing that this development is more than detrimental to an entire land – realizing that this is affecting her queen, who's sometimes more like her daughter than either care to admit. She comes to Garnet's side and puts a hand on her shoulder, eyes averted from the corpse. "...What will we tell the others? The people of Lindblum?"

Garnet tries to stand so Beatrix helps her away and down the slope, finding a relatively shady place for them to sit, fairly concealed behind destroyed walls. The queen's face, though upset and distressed, isn't wet with tears, and her eyes are harder than normal. Beatrix prays that Garnet isn't losing herself in all of this.

"...We can't tell the people. Not until we know where Eiko is. Without someone to lead them..."

Beatrix nods and puts her hand on Garnet's shoulder again. "And the others?"

"...I don't... I don't want to tell them; not yet. Amarant, Lani, Steiner... They have too much on their minds right now. This wouldn't help."

Beatrix knows Garnet means well, but the idea of holding _more_ from each other doesn't feel right. "Are you sure, your majesty?"

Garnet shakes her head. "I'm not sure of anything right now, Beatrix."

* * *

That knight is watching a few able bodied kids "playing" in the dirty, ruined streets, and his expression absolutely depresses Lani. Amarant has gone over to the northern part of the district, but she herself is laden with a few pricey rings and other goodies – and has a whole sack full of food – so she's content with wandering around and handing out some of the food to others.

But he looks so _miserable_, and even though she doesn't really give two gil about him, it makes _her_ feel just a little miserable.

So she tromps over and easily sets down her bag of food in front of him, crossing her arms and 'hmph'ing significantly.

"Moping around, huh?" she drawls, rolling her eyes, "Not that I don't expect anything else." She turns and sits easily next to the knight, who now looks more confused than depressed.

He looks at the bag in front of him and then looks to her, almost questioning but not able to phrase it for her eyes. She grins, because she can tell what it is, anyways.

"Food," she points to the bag, "For people. I don't know if it'll do any good, but who cares?" She pulls the long string of pearls Amarant had been waving around earlier out of her pocket. "I've got plenty of stuff here."

He eyes the necklace worriedly and Lani frowns. "What's the matter with you, anyways? You act like you've never seen dead people before."

When he opens his mouth to talk, she realizes that he's not someone who can simplify his thoughts into one or two easily distinguished words.

"Never mind, we both know I won't understand what you're saying."

A little boy comes limping up to them both with his shoulder and upper left arm heavily bandaged, and a roughly stitched shut wound on his face. Lani doesn't like kids, but she manages a small smile for him. It feels more like a grimace.

He asks her something, with wide eyes, and she says, "Sorry, kid. Can't hear a word you're saying."

So the boy looks around and then seems to yell in delight, because he's found a stick. Kids have such short attention spans!

He grins at her and then squats down next to Lani, scratching out crude letters in the dirt. _What's in your bag?_, he writes, and she smirks.

"Smart brat," she rolls her eyes, before pointing to it, "There's some hopefully good food in there. If you and your buddies want some, go ahead."

The boy grins and then drops the stick on the ground, running to his friends and telling them in what she supposes is a loud voice that she has food and she's going to give some to them.

She looks at the knight, who is looking at the bag, and then asks, "What's your name, anyways?"

He blinks, and then looks at her in confusion.

"I don't know your name. Doesn't seem to make sense, what with us fighting for our lives together and all."

The boys come over and she lets them drag the sack off to the side – she can still see it, so she's not too worried. She looks around and then grabs the stick the boy had used earlier, scuffing her boot against the dirt and then handing the stick to the knight.

"You _are_ literate, right?"

He frowns and makes an annoyed face, before scratching out _Steiner_ in the dirt.

"Steiner, huh." She looks at him sideways and he's looking at the sky. She thinks that if he weren't grimacing all the time, perhaps...

"How long have you been married to the General, anyways?"

He looks back to her and his face is really a somber mix of confusion, depression, and... something else. Something that reminds her of her dreams and makes her fee very uneasy.

He holds up three fingers.

"I can't see myself getting married," Lani mutters, speaking up to say, "She doesn't seem the type to settle down."

Steiner shrugs and looks at the dirt.

"You know..." Lani leans back a little and examines her new rings. "If you're so worried about your missus, she's at the castle with the queen. Why don't you just go talk to her?"

The knight almost stands, almost goes to do just that, but at the last moment his mind seems to shout at him because he shakes his head and looks at the castle in a kind of disguised longing.

"We really can't have people getting depressed and stupid right now," Lani snaps, regretting the words but not really. "Just because everyone is falling apart at the seams doesn't mean you can too."

He looks at her and asks something, before grabbing the stick and scratching out, _Why do you care about our wellbeing?_

"I don't give a shit about your wellbeing," she grumbles, "But I sure as hell can't deal with this right now. Red's already getting fucked by whatever he did, the queen is sinking into a hysterical pit she's _not_ going to get out of, and damn it, I really would _love_ to be able to hear my voice right now!"

Steiner gives her a sympathetic look and it pisses Lani off because she doesn't need sympathy, damn it, she needs her hearing back! ...No, what she needs is her axe and a good solid bounty. She needs how things were.

"So why don't you even have kids?" she asks in annoyance, looking to the three boys who have set up a miniature picnic nearby; bread with the mold picked off, a chipped jug of water, and meat cooked just enough to keep it from going bad all make the kids giggly and happy.

She wishes it was that easy for everyone else.

"I mean, three years and no kid?" She glances at him sideways with a smirk that feels violent even to her, "What, are you sterile or something?"

He looks at her in utter disbelief, eyes wide and mouth opening and closing like some kind of fish. He starts babbling, eyes narrowing and he looks just absolutely aggravated and astonished and embarrassed. She can tell he's saying no, because it's all in the words she can figure out.

"Or is it her that's all dried up?" she adds, fueling the knight's little tirade and making him jump up and shake. She decides that Amarant was right – this guy _is_ easy to rile up. But at the same time, she feels kind of guilty for getting him so upset, just so she wouldn't have to focus on her own feelings.

"Quit bellowing, I can't hear a word your saying. Besides, I'm not serious."

He stops almost abruptly and stares.

"What's the reason, then, if it isn't lack of ability?"

Lani's surprised to find that she actually kind of cares.

He takes a minute and then sits down again, heavily and wearily, and picks up the stick, looking at it idly.

"Well? I'm not going to wait all day, sir knight."

He starts scratching in the dirt like he's never going to stop.

_A woman in Beatrix's position can't afford a child right now it's not that we don't want but we can't because of her duty to the queen._

Lani reads the knight's explanation easily enough and finds that kind of stupid. Then again, she wouldn't want kids either, if she were too busy fighting for her life to save a kingdom. Hell, she wouldn't want kids _period_.

"Is that your excuse, or hers?"

Steiner looks away and nods towards where the castle should be. Lani nods in understanding and looks at his scratched writing again, before scuffing her boot across it and making it illegible.

She doesn't have anything else to do so she's content enough to sit next to this knight, who seems to have a lot more on his mind than he's letting on. She wonders why she's finding this fool so interesting – Amarant hadn't thought much of him, and she can see that no on in this ruined town really does either. Then again... He's an Alexandrian. The Lindblum folk probably don't think too highly of Alexandria right now, no matter the fact that the queen is just as hurt as they are.

_You were right_, he scuffs out onto the dirk at her feet, a grimacing smile on his face, _I mope._

She feels even guiltier than before but shrugs and says, "If you say so," turning her eyes away and back at the boys. A little girl has joined them – probably about five or six years old – and even though her face is dirty and tearstained, she still is enjoying the food the battered boy is offering.

"Wonder if they're orphans," she mumbles, looking briefly to Steiner. The knight watches the picnic as well, and then nods half-way to himself. He's got his eyes on the little girl and has a wistful, kind of nostalgic look on his face; as if he's remembering something from a long time ago that he forgot completely.

Lani thinks it's a shame he's not going to have kids.

* * *

Amarant focuses his eye on the glinting piece of silver in the wreckage of the weapons shop and crawls through the tightest tunnels of debris to get to it. He has a feeling that whatever he's going for is going to be _worth it_, and swears loudly when a sharp, jagged bit of metal scrapes against his arm and leaves a long, angry welt. He hopes it doesn't get infected, but he's so damned close –

There! He closes his gloved hand around the silver and tugs – the front of the tunnel collapses but he's rewarded with a long sword, with a wavy blade nearly two feet in length. He tries to remember what the hell it's called. Flam-something.

He turns his head and eyes the distant exit of the tunnel and sees that it's going to be damned hard getting out.

His stomach twists and he realizes very suddenly that this was not a good idea.

Gravity pushes down on Amarant's shoulders and he struggles very quickly to get out of the tunnel before the rest of the weight comes down on him, but gravity's already pushing the bricks and plaster down onto him and pulling wood and metal towards him. He wants to shout or scream or _something_ but his mouth isn't working right, his tongue is kind of lolling in his mouth and he can feel the stitches on his eye pulling apart trying to pop out of his skull so he struggles more and hears dangerous creaking beneath him and he can't _breathe_ because everything's pushing towards him, he can't see and he's pulling everything around him into a huge gravitational pull and he's going to become a fucking star, or sun or planet and suck everyone down –

He realizes that something's punctured his stomach and realizes it's the sword he had been dragging beneath him but the blood isn't dripping out it's kind of going deeper into the wound and it hurts so much he can't concentrate and all he wants to do is will the gravity away tell it to stop wait until he gets out before it keeps going

He's going to be a fucking door matt

He can feel his tongue and though there's still pressure all around him it's lighter, because gravity's leaving him alone.

He screams but is drowned out by a roar.

* * *

Everything kind of stops and Lindblum grinds to a halt under the sheer force of the roar echoing down the streets.

At the highest point in Lindblum, Garnet and Beatrix stand and stare because this is something both of them can see.

The King of Dragons swoops low over the city and snarls at the little bug people running beneath it and away from it. Beatrix tries to pull Garnet away from the open, tries to get her to hide but she _can't_ and _won't_, and then there's shouting from the bottom of the castle, "Beatrix," and the General prays that Steiner just stay _out of this_ because she doesn't want-

The Dragon lands in front of them, hunkered down and wings spread out over them like a giant leathery canopy. Garnet stares and Beatrix, not one of the dragon knights of Burmecia, draws her sword and pulls the Queen behind her.

The King of Dragons looks as though he's smiling at her and he pulls his long neck back, eyes far too intelligent for just any damned dragon stare her down.

"Bahamut," Garnet rasps, and He looks at her with an uncomprehending, spiteful glint in His eyes. "Bahamut, please..."

A growl stretches across the sky and fire licks the rims of the Dragon's grimacing maw. Beatrix doesn't have fire-resistant clothing on but neither does Garnet so she pulls the girl close and says "everything will be alright" as fire erupts from scaled lips and Steiner shouts hoarsely, clearing the ridge.

No heat scalds her back and no flame tears her down; when Beatrix cautiously turns back to the Dragon she is greeted by golden fur and long, slender dragon wings that are clashing against Bahamut's overgrown wings.

A deep, _warm_ growl penetrates the air and a voice deep and rich and smooth and rough commands all attention towards the golden mass of light. "Get _away_!"

Bahamut rears backwards and snarls, almost hissing out words but not quite, mouthing out fire that is deflected by huge, furred paws that almost resemble full hands.

"This is not the time," Madeen snarls, "Nor is it the place! Be _gone_, Lord of Dragons!"

A mighty shove forward and Madeen sends Bahamut spinning through the sky, eyes rolling in confusion and anger. The Dragon rights itself, and His wings create huge gusts of wind as He stares down at the golden Eidolon.

He looks as if He's about to speak, but then instead He wheels in the sky and soars off towards the sun.

Garnet pulls away from Beatrix and asks, weakly, "...Madeen...?"

The Eidolon turns and sees the queen staggering blindly over debris, so he steps forward and seems to nearly shrink half his size, becoming less intimidating and more... warm.

He smiles, but doesn't respond to the young queen, merely turning his head towards the horizon.

Garnet nearly falls but out of the dark, other than Madeen, she sees someone and stops trying to run forward – all of her momentum draining out of her when she sees it.

Beatrix, Steiner, and Lani stagger forward almost as one and Beatrix asks, "Lady _Eiko_?"

The little girl – not so little any more, more like an adult than anything – smiles kind of serenely at them, before turning her eyes onto Garnet.

"I...I can _see_ you," the queen whispers.

Eiko nods once. "I want to stay and talk, but..." She looks to Madeen, who nods down at her. The little girl reaches out her hand and says, "We have a lot to do, Dagger. Come on."

The queen looks almost hurt by the insinuation that they can't _stop_ for a moment, but then she nods and takes Eiko's hand.


	11. Salvaging What's There To Salvage

Amarant has trouble opening his eye, because he feels very warm and content to stay where ever he his. He halfway wants to believe that everything from the last few days has just been a bad dream, but he's never been one to lie to himself.

So he forces his eye open and winces as the stitches on his other eye inadvertently stretch. He _hates_ that.

"You're awake!"

The soft voice makes him blink in confusion because he _knows_ that voice, but he can't quite remember where...

"You're so _dumb_, Ama-chan! You should _never_ do things like that again!"

His eye focuses and he sees Eiko sitting on the foot of his bed, arms crossed and face containing a smug, worried expression.

"Eiko?" he rasps.

"Good morning!" she chimes, grinning impishly at the bounty hunter.

He jerks up in bed and stares at her in confusion. "I thought you were..."

He trails off and her grin softens.

"I know," she tells him, "its okay." The grin returns in full force and she asks, "Are you hungry?"

He looks around and realizes he's back in the hospital.

"Where is..." He looks at himself and realizes his clothes are gone. "Where are my _clothes_, brat?"

"Oh, those?" She waves a hand, "They tossed them."

He tries to wrap his head around this new development and can't. "They threw away my clothing?"

"Don't worry; I have something for you to wear." She gives him a look that makes him feel incredibly guilty, and says, "I made them for you a while ago, when I was still hoping you'd come on your own time, and not just because you were saving the world."

He remembers getting letters from the young girl, all talking of politics in layman's terms, asking questions about things that she _knew_ he'd never answer... and he would never write back. He had a bundle of them in a traveling sack... if he ever finds _that_ again. He doubts it and this makes him feel really...

"Your clothes are right here, at the end of the bed," Eiko tells him with that guilty-striking look on her face, "Get dressed, and then we can go help Blank, okay?"

She gets up to leave and Amarant asks, "Who's Blank?"

"A friend," she tells him, "Now wait until I leave before you change!" She wags a finger at him and then skips out of the room, slamming the unstable door behind her.

He stares at the foot of his bed and finds a bundle of deep green fabric and leather straps and hopes that the girl isn't totally inept at stitching like _some_ women.

* * *

Marcus really wants to leave. 

He wants to get as far the hell away from the theatre district as possible, because it smells like rotting corpses and shit and its hot _everywhere_, even if the sun normally doesn't reach certain areas. He wants to run because it scares him to know that his brothers and old boss are rotting away about a hundred yards from him and he can't stop it.

He wants to leave, but Blank can hardly breathe and can hardly move, so he sits beside the broken down bed and holds his brother's hand. He wonders where Benero went but doesn't have the will to look for him.

Blank is pale and sweaty and grimy, and he can't open his eyes right with all the muck in them and he can't bend his arms at the joints really, not anymore; and, for all of his studying at night just because he had nothing better to do, Marcus can't help him. He doesn't know where to begin.

He wants to tell Blank that, but his brother manages to say, "I trust you, Marcus," every so often in a dry, throaty cough and he _can't_.

To make it worse, sometimes his brother rasps and whispers about angels and help being on the way. Marcus is just thankful that fucking dragon hadn't seen them. God, that thing is going to give him _nightmares_. It had faced off with some vicious, lion-like creature at the top of the Not-So-Grand Castle, and Marcus is almost certain that there aren't a lot of survivors on the other side of the barricade.

Blank suddenly struggles with that mysterious blanket and fights against Marcus, who tries to calm him down and get him to lay back down, because he's just coughs more when he moves –

"I need to go!" he rasps, grabbing at Marcus' shoulders, "We need to go!"

"Shh, hey, bro, it's me."

"Let me go!"

Marcus frowns and pushes Blank against the boards. "Blank! You need to calm down!"

The redhead struggles against him a little more and then goes kind of limp, eyes kind of opening even though they're covered with this weird film –

"Zidane's dead, isn't he?"

Marcus wants to respond but Blank's not talking to him. As the redhead practically sags in Marcus' arms, the leader of Tantalus turns his head and wants to brandish his dagger at the girl and man there but really... why bother?

"Please," he rasps, realizing his voice is no better than Blank's because they've barely had any water, "Help him, he's delirious."

The little girl smiles in complete tranquility and says to the ragged, scarred behemoth next to her, "That's Blank. You remember him, don't you?"

"Vaguely," the man growls.

The girl smiles at Marcus now and says, "We can help you over to the other side of the wall – there's a hospital set up and people are waiting on the other side to help your friend. I told them about you."

"You... how did you even know...?"

The girl shakes her head and Marcus doesn't bother finishing his sentence.

The man stalks up to the two thieves and, with a kind of calmness that seems unfitting of him, lifts the half-unconscious, mumbling Blank into his arms.

"Can you walk?" he asks Marcus in a gruff, but not quite unfriendly voice.

The thief nods.

"Good. At least _one_ of you isn't utterly fucked."

The man stalks out into the sun and Blank gives a startled gasp; Marcus jogs after the man and is followed by the girl.

"Marcus," the girl says in a quiet voice, and so in response the thief slows his pace and looks to the girl in confusion.

"What... how do you know my name?"

"I'm... a friend of Zidane's," she sighs. "I know a lot of people. I wanted to tell you..." She puts a small hand against her shoulder and nods, "You did everything you could."

There's something final about that sentence and he frowns. "What are you trying to say?"

"I'm saying," she mumbles, "Don't hold yourself responsible for how much worse he's going to get."

"He's _not_ going to get worse," he snaps viciously, and he trudges on in quiet trepidation of what's beyond the rock wall ahead of them.

* * *

Eiko sits at the head of the table in the middle of a rough clearing, on top of a plank of wood supported by bricks. The group around her is haggard, defeated, but relieved at her appearance and she thinks that _maybe_ everything will be okay. Other than a few workers on either side of the clearing, working on finding people around them, they are completely secluded and alone. 

"I'm sorry I took so long," she tells them.

Garnet, sitting between Steiner and Beatrix, on Eiko's left, asks in a drawn voice, "Where have you been?" She can _see_ Eiko, but the little summoner isn't concerned about that at all. She knew all the bonuses and drawbacks of her new situation when she took Madeen's offer. Not that she's going to tell them, of course – all girls have some kind of mystery about them.

"_Mystique builds character!"_ Zidane had told her once.

"It doesn't really matter," she waves her hand dismissively. "I'm just glad everyone's alright. I would have come sooner but..."

"You keep saying 'but,' and never tell us what you _mean_," Amarant growls, from his position across from Beatrix. His eye is on the little girl, but Eiko knows his mind is somewhere completely different. After all, he _had_ been out nearly a day after all that commotion in the square. Really, he should've known better than to go tromping through ruins in his condition!

"Well, I don't think I'm allowed to," Eiko lies through her teeth, innocently blinking her eyes at her proclaimed "big brother." "You know how these things are."

She grins at all of them and says, "It's been forever since I've seen you all! I'm sorry it had to be like this." She looks at Lani with a catty expression and asks, "Can you hear me, or are you really _that_ deaf?"

"Shut it, brat," the woman pouts, crossing her arms and putting her feet on the table. "This is _great_. All I can listen to is a bunch of old men or a little _kid_."

Amarant shoves her shoulder and she growls at him.

"Eiko," Garnet begins, "I just want to know why I can see you, and why Lani can hear you. Can't you tell me just that?"

Eiko could. She really could tell them, but where was the fun in that?

Then again, after everything that's happened... She doesn't want to keep Garnet in the dark like the old man Eidolon does. She knows he's just doing it for her wellbeing but in the end, it's going to ruin her...

"Um, it's... I kind of had to..."

Eiko wants to tell her everything, about how hard the blasts hit the castle and about how everything had gone red before black and how she had felt so many strands in her soul cut loose, and had felt a sudden emptiness after the dark. She wants to tell Garnet that she knew the second Zidane died, and she could tell her right now that it was exactly twelve minutes and twenty three seconds past ten o'clock at night.

Garnet doesn't even know what day it is _now_.

"I just had to help the Eidolons help _you_, so they kind of gave me special benefits."

"Why don't they just give me my hearing back?" Lani growls, glaring at the little girl. "And, I guess her eyes, if they felt like it."

Eiko rolls her eyes and says, "I'm _different_. It was just easier to give me a little help than to give _you_ a lot." She looks at Garnet, "No offense, Dagger."

Even after four years, Eiko still prefers calling Garnet "Dagger." She only knew that name for nearly three months – even Cid had told her that he preferred that name to Garnet, just because of what it meant to his kind-of-niece.

"I understand," the queen says, even though Eiko's sure she doesn't quite get it yet.

"Forgive me for interrupting," Beatrix mumbles, looking very quiet and a lot different than how Eiko remembers her. She always thought Beatrix was the calm, strong General who was never overly cautious because she always knew how far to go... But right now she seems withdrawn and almost...

"What is it, Beatrix?" Garnet asks, confused.

"What about...?"

Eiko knows what they're talking about because Madeen had told her at the very beginning what had happened to her adoptive parents. "I know, don't worry," she tells the two women with a smile. "It's alright."

"Know what?" Steiner asks, looking beyond confused.

Eiko kind of likes Steiner, just because he's very... She doesn't even know a word for him. She just gets a good feeling from him.

"Don't worry about it, okay?" Eiko stretches and says, "We need to start planning some sort of temporary chain of command for Lindblum, because we need to go soon."

"Go _where_?" Amarant growls, "We don't even know where to start."

"I do," Eiko tells her "big brother," grinning impishly, "Don't worry, Ama-chan, I'll take care of you!"

"If I weren't delusional and in pain, brat, I'd be throwing you up on top of something you couldn't get down from."

Eiko waves her arms and says, "Enough! We need to find someone to help make sure Blank and Marcus will be alright."

"Why do you care so much about two thieves?" Lani asks, scratching the side of her head in annoyance, "They don't have anything worth taking."

"They're friends of Zidane, and besides, they're nice people."

Garnet looks away and Amarant looks at her, eye narrowed slightly and face dark with thoughts Eiko doesn't want him to have, if only because they're not good for anyone.

"Whatever," Lani grumbles, seeing Amarant's direction as well, standing and shaking her head. "I'd rather be deaf than have to listen to this little brat any more." She turns on her heel and stalks off, easy as she can, waving a bit and saying, "See you," in a very final voice.

Eiko watches her leave with little remorse – she doesn't like Lani and she's not going to pretend she does. But she finds it interesting that while everyone else has noted her leaving, Amarant's eyes linger on her retreating form and even after he turns back to Eiko with a level look, Steiner is still glancing in that direction.

"What do we do, then?" Amarant asks the girl, bringing her eyes back to him.

Eiko shrugs. "Everyone at the hospital seems pretty good at what they're doing, so I guess they don't need any help from me. The only thing I want people to start worrying about is building places for people to sleep... and food. Oh," she jumps a little, "And the theatre district! There are probably more survivors over there and I don't want them alone."

"Eiko..." Garnet rasps, before shaking her head. "We'll find someone to start organizing what you want. But... can you take me to see Blank and Marcus, first? I want to..."

Eiko doesn't want to tell the two thieves what's happened to Zidane. She's kind of dreading it, honestly; Blank already knows on some subconscious level but he's so... _hurt_, so tortured right now that she doesn't think it'd be a good idea.

Still, Garnet's keeping enough things from people. It wouldn't do for her to keep something like this away from the two men, who knew her husband long before she had.

Eiko stands and nods. "I'll take you to them right now, if you want."

Garnet stands and so does Beatrix and Steiner, but Amarant stays in his seat, staring off into space and acting weird for himself. Then again, Eiko isn't surprised.

"Alright, let's go!" she exclaims, ignoring Steiner's backward glance at Amarant. She tromps ahead, a grin on her face and her thoughts in quiet rotation.

* * *

Marcus sits very close to the bed Blank has been put in, his eyes sunken with lack of sleep and his head hanging slightly from exhaustion, and Steiner is rather surprised that the man is holding up so well – that he has refused rest even though a bed is made for him only a few steps away. 

Eiko is sitting on Blank's bed, hand on the thief's foot, and she says, "We're making plans to leave Lindblum soon, Marcus."

The thief looks at her briefly before returning his vigilant gaze on his brother-in-arms. "Right."

"We don't know what's wrong with Blank," the little girl continues carefully, "But the healers are going to give him special attention because I asked them to. We'll help him, okay?"

Marcus shifts his head and looks steadily at Eiko now, shaking his head. "Don't do that," he mutters roughly. "Blank would hate getting preferential treatment. It's not right."

Blank mumbles incoherently and his eyes open just barely.

"...Marcus...?"

The older thief is already over his comrade, and he rasps out, "Blank, you're awake – good. I thought you might be..."

The redhead coughs and chokes out, "Not quite yet."

"How are you feeling?" Eiko asks, smiling easily at the thief who is now almost staring at her in disbelief.

"...Wishing I was still delirious. Wouldn't feel so stupid, then, for thinking the regent's daughter to be an angel."

"You don't know the half of it," Eiko mutters to herself. Steiner hears it but doesn't comment, because he doesn't see Beatrix or his queen raising it themselves.

Blank's eyes halfway run over the group and stop on Garnet.

"...So," he whispers, licking his lips and closing his eyes, "She's alone, huh."

Garnet's face changes in that nearly imperceptible way and Steiner knows she's on that edge again, but he's not going to reprimand the thief. He could very well be on that edge as well.

"...Yes," Eiko tells the thieves in an undertone.

Blank sighs and he seems to drift off again; Eiko is talking quietly with Marcus and so Steiner looks to Beatrix.

"Are you alright?" he asks, because he hasn't had a moment to talk with her in nearly four days.

His wife looks to him with weary eyes but manages a half smile and a nod. "I should be fine."

He wants to tell her that he loves her, and that he doesn't need her to keep acting strong because he can do it just fine on his own, but the words choke him and so he turns his head towards the broken window.

"Marcus," Blank rasps suddenly, eyes opening slightly and going over his friend. "Will you go with them?"

Marcus stares at his friend in complete confusion and Steiner feels himself doing the same.

"I'm not going anywhere without you," the older thief tells the younger, voice stiff and full of a strange emotion Steiner can't place.

"I don't..."

Blank looks weakly at Eiko and at the three in the back and says something quietly to only Marcus. The other's face pales and he grabs his comrade's hand in a tight grip.

"Don't start that bullshit – I'm not going. You'll be fine."

He turns to them and says, "Can you guys... leave?"

Steiner wants to tell him that they can't leave until preparations are complete but Garnet's already nodding and Beatrix is leading her away, so he follows and shuts the door behind him, leaving Eiko alone with the thieves she had saved.


	12. Fear of Water

It had taken them four days to get to Lindblum, and another five to leave, and ever since they had stepped foot outside of the crumbling walls of the city things have been strange.

For one, the land all around the marsh had been charred and burnt from Bahamut, while the marsh had been absolutely fine. They had talked with Quale briefly; the Qu had given them food and promised to go to Lindblum and check food and water supplies.

After that, it was all a matter of following Eiko's orders.

The little girl is _different_. Granted, Amarant hasn't seen her in four years, but still. She's aged, yes... but she's aged as people do when they've faced more grief than their years allow. She even has tiny, almost imperceptible wrinkles around her eyes – the kind that Lani spends ages on, trying to cover them up.

But she's still annoying as hell and her added mystery doesn't help matters much. She's been leading them for the past three days in the general direction of Burmecia, but with a little western movement that makes Amarant wonder if she even knows where they're going.

The skies are already starting to cloud in the horizon and he has a feeling rain's coming.

Eiko is humming at the front of their group, heading steadily towards the clouds and the sunset, and he wonders what the hell she's doing.

"We're going to need to stop soon," he says to her from his place near the back of the group. It's kind of like old times – if he had enjoyed the old times, he might not be in such a bad mood.

"I know," Eiko responds loftily.

Garnet is walking beside her with their hands clasped together, and Steiner and Beatrix are close behind, like the royal guards they are. Lani is in front of him, eyes lowered strangely. He doesn't trust that. Lani's not the kind of woman to look docile at any point in time and if he weren't so wrapped up in other things he would question her about it.

As it is, the moons are already starting their ascent – one waxing and the other waning. He only understands the basics of the lunar cycles but they always seem to be in counterpoint – it's very strange to one night look up and only see one moon in the sky when you're expecting two.

But it's been six or seven days since he had his last Whatever - he's not quite sure because no one seems to want to tell him how long he had been out for. He's leaning towards seven but it doesn't really matter. He hopes that maybe that had been his last one and he won't get anymore...

Hoping, though, has never been very trustworthy.

Lani looks up suddenly and her eyes dart around like some kind of cornered animal or something and it doesn't fit her at all. He puts a hand against her shoulder and she looks at him for a long moment.

"...I don't know," she finally responds to his unspoken question.

"We'll stop up there," Eiko says easily, pointing in the distance at a treeline. Steiner makes a noise but none of them disagree – they've been sleeping on the plains for the past two days and, as much as they don't like forests, a plain is more prone to attack.

The blue moon is a few degrees higher when they reach the treeline. Eiko is taking them towards the center and he realizes that the forest is really not that big. Not big enough for a giant centipede, at least.

They settle in between three large, leafless trees, and Lani starts towards the west, going for firewood. She doesn't admit it out loud, but she kind of thinks it's the only thing she can do for the group that's been kind of watching her back. She doesn't really care about any of them – other than Amarant – but she's not going to just lounge about while they at least attempt to help her.

She's mildly surprised that Steiner offers to go with her and accepts it, despite Beatrix's slightly bemused look. That woman's thinking about other things, however, and almost immediately turns away.

That annoys Lani. Does Beatrix think she's not worth worrying over? What a bitch. Just because her nose is all fucked up, and she's not as goddamned uninjured as the Alexandrian...

She cracks branches harder than she had wanted to and earns a confused look from Steiner.

"The hell are you looking at?" she snaps, and growls at him. He frowns and quickly turns away to a dead sapling, stripping away the dry branches relatively easy, considering his...

She doesn't really like thinking of everyone else's problems – it takes away from her own.

They return within about ten minutes with a fair bundle of wood, and dump it in the ring of rocks Amarant's set up.

The bounty hunter digs through his bag and procures a box of flint that an old man named Locke had given Steiner. He doesn't know why he's suddenly the items carrier but he doesn't mind so much – it gives him something to worry about other than himself.

Lani's already made the fire so all he has to do is light it, but when he reaches out to strike the flint against the steel bar from the box his hand starts shuddering. He draws it back to himself and grabs it, feeling as though he's going to tear it off if it keeps doing this. He hands the flint and steel to Lani and sits back, half-curling around his hands.

Eiko looks to her big brother in sympathy. She hates that he has to go through all of this, but Madeen had warned her. "There will be casualties," he said, "And there will be pain. People will not be as they were."

But what was she going to do, _avoid_ them? Not help them? Never! She wants and _needs_ to help them, because Ramuh couldn't help and neither could any of the other Eidolons. They had sent Dagger and the others on a wild hunt into who knows where, with no direction.

She smiles at Dagger, who returns it gratefully, if not a little half-heartedly.

The fire is started and they all move in a little closer and hope that tonight will be like the last few nights; hope that no Eidolon sees their fire and comes to investigate. They're all wondering where they're going – the only one with any clue is Eiko, and she only has vague ideas about going to see Vivi. Not that that makes _any_ sense, because Vivi can't help them.

Still, it's a purpose, and the one thing she learned in the post-Kuja Lindblum is that people like having purpose.

* * *

By mid-morning, Eiko has gotten them packed up and on their way to the Burmecian side of the forest. Steiner tries to put his thoughts in order and finds it very hard.

He knows that Eiko knows more than they do. She knows where they need to go – at least, she _seems_ to – and she's doing a good job at leading them. Even Lani, who seems to _hate_ the little girl, is following without complaint.

Lani worries him; she gives off a bad, _dangerous_ feeling but he's not sure what kind of danger she could possibly present. She's with Amarant, and he trusts Amarant fairly well. If Amarant isn't worried...

He turns his eyes onto his wife and finds nothing really there but a wall. The last week and a half have left Beatrix looking with apprehension at the future, not allowing herself a glance to anyone else. He wonders if she's trying to protect everyone from the future... or if she's simply trying to protect herself from everyone else.

He wouldn't be surprised if that were the case. Beatrix has always been very solitary – even when others rely on her, she stays on her own. Steiner had confronted her about it once, and was simply dismissed with, "In times of turmoil, it is best not to rely on those who may fail you."

This makes him ache a bit now, because it means she thinks he can't support her if she needs it. She is a contradiction in the fact that she can be both completely selfless and yet utterly selfish at the same time.

It drives Steiner crazy.

"What's all of this?"

Steiner turns his eyes to Eiko, and finds her looking around in confusion. He follows her line of sight and sees that the entire field in front of them has become soggy, muddy, and not much unlike the marshes, though the water is murkier and there's a lingering smell that doesn't sit right with the knight.

Amarant paces forward and gets about ten feet ahead of the group before he is up to his knees in the filthy water. He turns to them, crosses his arms, and growls, "We can probably walk it."

Without much hesitation, after seeing Amarant's position, Lani hitches her bags higher on her back and starts after her comrade.

"Dagger," Eiko says, "We're going to have to walk through some water, okay? Don't worry, though, it'll be fine."

"Alright," the Queen responds quietly and together, the two summoners follow after the bounty hunters ahead.

Steiner looks to Beatrix. "Shall we?"

His wife is already starting ahead.

The water reaches up to Eiko's waist but not much higher. However, they can't see the ground below them and so they are sliding through very carefully, in case something might be lurking just beneath the surface, ready to trip any of them up.

"There's the entrance to the grotto," Eiko says suddenly, pointing, "I can see it!"

Amarant squints and asks, "Who the hell is that over there?"

Lani yelps and tumbles forward, falling into the water with a heavy splash. Her hands catch the floor and so she doesn't _drown_, luckily. Before anyone can ask her what happened, however, she raises her hands up with thick, matted clumps of fur and flesh in their grips.

"Oh _fucking_ god damn it _that is fucking- _what the _hell_!"

Lani throws the clumps away from her and shudders, pushing her hands just under the surface to get off the rotting meat.

Her eyes grow wide – much too wide, Steiner doesn't think that a woman like Lani should be shocked over anything – and she pulls back sharply, grabbing at Amarant's belt and struggling to get up.

"Get me out of this water Red get me out, now, let's _go-_"

The hunter isn't paying her attention – his eyes are locked on a soaking grey-white furred paw reaching just barely out of the water, dislodged by Lani's kicking around.

Eiko puts her hands over her mouth and grabs at Garnet's arm, turning her around as Amarant reaches down and tugs on the hand, ignoring Lani's fists pounding against his shoulder and telling him to just leave it _alone_-

The Burmecian corpse is bloated slightly and its blackened tongue is hanging out from limp jaws, one eye almost completely _melted_ away, with the other white and glossy. The skin and fur is nearly peeling away from the heat and water and bugs.

"Amarant!" Lani shrieks, "Leave it _alone_!"

Amarant drops the hand but the body is sucked under the water slowly, lone eye gazing at them mournfully before being pulled under.

"This whole fucking thing's full of dead Burmecians," Amarant growls, grabbing Lani's shoulder and glaring at her angrily, "Damn it, woman, stop being a fucking coward and let's _go_."

He points ahead and Lani shudders; it takes a good two minutes before they start moving again.

They get closer to the entrance and they can see a large wagon on the large stone terrace at the entrance of the Grotto. Figures are moving about and Eiko shouts, "It's Puck!"

She picks up her pace and so everyone else does as well, pushing through the water and mud and probably bodies too.

The mud suddenly gives way to stone and they're moving up the slope to the entrance. A guard yells and Puck turns, fists clenched and ready for an attack.

"Puck!" Eiko exclaims, letting go of Garnet's hand and bounding forward, tackle-hugging the lanky Burmecian king and nearly sending him toppling over.

"Eiko, you're alive!" the Burmecian chokes, voice dry and hoarse from the sun and lack of water. "I can't believe it..."

"What happened here?" Beatrix asks, voice low and steady and her eye not quite meeting the Burmecian guards around them as she examines the Grotto's entrance.

The doors are busted open from the hinges, bent outwards as if pressed upon by a great force. The locks are completely useless and the massive handles hang half out of their sockets.

"...There was a flood," Puck says at last, height matching Beatrix's line of sight just so he can stare her down. "We... haven't gone through yet. We're not sure what's inside."

"Judging from that marsh," Amarant growls lowly, "There's probably nothing nice."

"Eiko, I looked everywhere for you!" the king changes the subject flawlessly, holding the younger girl at arms length, "Where the hell were you?"

"...I was... I was with Madeen. Don't worry too much about me, Puck, I'm alright. And, I want to thank you for coming back to help Lindblum."

Puck looks away and says, "It wouldn't have made a difference if we had come here first."

One of the guards looks ready to say something but he holds his tongue and simply looks on silently.

Amarant is examining the doors and he finally says, "We're going through here, aren't we, brat?"

Eiko pulls back from Puck's arms quickly and blushes a little, tittering nervously.

"I don't know... Is there another way through?"

"We're... outside the Grotto?" Garnet asks, speaking up for the first time in a while.

Puck looks at the queen in confusion and asks, "What happened?"

"Oh..." The queen frowns and sighs, "Forgive me, King Puck. I... I have been temporarily blinded."

The guards murmur amongst themselves, only to be silenced by a fierce glare from both Amarant and Puck.

The king turns back to Garnet and nods, adding, "We are. Another week of walking would take us to the North Gate, but..."

"It would be faster and safer through the Grotto," Amarant growls. "The floodwaters drowned everything in there, so there aren't any monsters... and the gates will all have been pushed open by the force of the water."

Puck gulps but nods. "I agree. It would be faster to go through the Grotto, but..." He looks to the guards, "Some of us have family and friends inside."

Amarant makes a noise, a lot like a snake, and snaps, "Well, they aren't inside anymore. They're all in _there_," he waves a hand at the marsh, "You can sit out here and flounder but I'm going to go through here."

He doesn't wait for agreements or arguments – he simply goes.

The group watches his form retreat into the shadows, but is disturbed by a loud thud. The youngest guard, with his ears back against his skull and his helmet missing, has a large knapsack on his back and is looking at the king expectantly.

"We're following Lady Freya's friend, aren't we?" he asks, shifting the weight on his back and running a paw through his silvered hair, pushing sweaty fur out of his eyes.

Puck looks to the Grotto and, with a feeling of great trepidation, nods. "Yeah... We're following him. Grab what you can and let's go."

* * *

The inside of the Grotto is completely ripped apart. Some stones, already loose from years of wear, have come completely out of the pathway and are lying as much as three meters from their original holes. The entire tunnel is cool and everything is dripping with water, still soaked after so long. It smells stale and has an underlying, putrid smell that makes Puck almost want to throw up. It's not that horrible, really, but he knows what it means.

Amarant is a thirty or forty paces ahead of them, his huge frame only barely visible in the dark. They should have brought a candle.

He almost thinks they should have brought Vivi.

The youngest guard is just in front of them, and every so often between the quiet muttering of the older guards, he can be heard humming out an old Burmecian song about spring rains.

Puck wants to know, very badly, why Eiko is suddenly here and why she is holding on to Garnet's hand so lightly. The queen should have a cane, or something, in case Eiko lets go... Then again, Eiko wouldn't let go unless she needed to.

It's strange... just a week ago, he had thought for sure Eiko was dead... but here she is. He had almost thought that he would never see her again.

He wonders who is in control of Lindblum at the moment and finds the question rolling off his tongue before he can stop it.

His voice echoes off the walls and comes back sounding wet.

Eiko looks to him, smiles, and says, "They're all the rulers right now. I have authorized some people from different parts of the city to do certain things. Don't worry, I have it all figured out. When I get back, I'll start them on rebuilding... right now, we're just trying to _live_."

"And what of Alexandria?" one guard asks, looking briefly backwards but not halting his steps.

"We... We trust our people to do what they think best for Alexandria," Garnet mumbles.

"What if they think _you_ are not best for Alexandria?"

"Hey," Puck cuts in, "What exactly are you trying to say, you old-"

"If that is what they decide, I won't object."

The Burmecians – no, everyone really – looks at the queen in confusion.

Amarant makes a noise from up ahead.

"I suggest," he growls, "That if you have family from the Grotto, you should either get ready to check bodies for them or close your eyes."

They pass through a gateway and the young guard's humming halts.

The large antechamber smells heavily of death, decay, and mold. Because the room was built with a basin shape for the floor there are about two inches of water still lying on the ground, the wood of flipped over and destroyed furniture is already starting to mold.

There are bodies everywhere. Most of them are lying face down or on their sides on the ground – but there is one strung across a shattered chandelier and another with its head smashed between two broken beams on the wall.

One of the guards visibly forces down bile and Puck almost has to do the same. Only, he doesn't because he is really just thinking about Freya now.

After his father had died, Freya had taken up council with him and had advised the young Burmecian on what to do next. He had only been about ten years old then, but the dragon knight had helped him through a rocky start. In turn, he had leant an almost sympathetic ear for her problems concerning Sir Fratley, Amnesiac Extraordinaire.

The only reason he's thinking about her instead of all his people is that the body in the chandelier is a dragon knight. With a sudden jolt to the present Puck realizes he even knows the knight's name, and has had his family in the castle more than once.

Eiko grabs his hand and says, "If you want to close your eyes, I'll lead you through."

He refuses silently and they work across the debris-covered floor.

They are nearly to the other side of the room when Amarant halts, turning in half circles and clenching his fist in preparation.

"Something's here," he growls.

The guards ready their pikes and when everyone is completely still, they can hear rustling from the other side of the broken doors.

From the darkness in the doorway they can see shining eyes, and there's a soft _clunk_ as something heavy hits the ground. A moment later and they can make out the shape of a Burmecian, about average height but emaciated, and then a dry, raspy, almost familiar voice mutters:

"Of all the people in the world..."

Another _clunk_ and Puck realizes the Burmecian is holding a thick, heavy branch. She's dressed in a tattered and barely recognizable dragon knight's uniform, her hair thin and tangled and her muzzle muddy and damp from the tunnel.

Amarant immediately drops his offensive and his eye gets this incredibly confused, almost painful look.

"_Freya_," he rasps and Puck can see it, even if he doesn't believe it.

"I never expected _you_," the dragon knight wheezes, dropping the branch and falling forward. Amarant catches her and looks completely shocked that his hand can so easily wrap around her arm and she must be so _light_.

"Freya," the bounty hunter growls, "_Freya_."

But it's no use – Freya Crescent, last surviving dragon knight, has fainted dead away.


	13. Sea of Sand

By nightfall, the small group has managed to push through the Grotto and reach the kingdom of Burmecia.

There's not much to see.

The once sprawling and fairly well off rebuilt Burmecia seems to have disappeared completely, and Puck has a sinking feeling that there's just nothing there anymore.

In front of them is a large lake that seems to have grown there in the few weeks Puck has been gone. He wants to know, desperately, what has happened to his kingdom but the only one who knows is unconscious in Amarant's arms.

The Burmecian king doesn't know much about the bounty hunter, other than what Freya and Eiko have told him. Both of them painted different pictures from one another, and both of those seem different from the real thing. Freya had said that Amarant was outwardly arrogant but inwardly nobler than he would ever let on in even the most civilized company – a dragon knight's soul in a kind of awkwardly large frame.

Eiko had told Puck that her "big brother" was really not as scary as he seemed. He wasn't at all the tough and vicious man he pretended to be – "bullies really are just insecure with themselves, anyways. He's a bully, but he doesn't mean it."

All Puck sees is a blank, undignified behemoth whose appearance, under different circumstances, would have terrified him. He's covered in scar tissue and his eye has been sewn so haphazardly that he might've done it himself.

But, in the grand scheme of things, Amarant really doesn't matter to Burmecia. Only Freya does.

Eiko yawns at Puck's side and the king turns to look at her. "Tired?" he asks, frowning.

"A little," she mumbles, looking at the lake.

"We'll have to ask Freya how she got across," Puck speaks quietly, not knowing if he wants anyone to hear them yet.

"There will be no need to question the female, little king."

The group, as a whole, turns to face the dark mountains around the Grotto. Nearby, Puck can just make out glowing eyes and a large, hulking body of a wolf.

"Fenrir!" Eiko exclaims in glee, coming forward and wrapping her arms around the wolf Eidolon's neck as far as they can reach.

"Who is that?" one guard questions lowly, "I can hardly see. Is it another Burmecian?"

Puck sees Steiner lay his hand on his sword. He has a look of cautious acceptance at the Eidolon's appearance and the king doesn't really blame him. Fenrir isn't exactly a very... welcoming figure. Beatrix is standing very still, her arms crossed and a strange, blank look on her face. Garnet is, eerily enough, looking in Fenrir's direction – it's almost as if she can see him... Amarant, with Freya in his arms, has only stopped walking; he hasn't bothered to turn around. The woman with him – Lani, as he picked up from Eiko – is watching the dark warily, eyes darting around them as if anticipating the arrival of more Eidolons.

"Continuing along this path will lead you around the lake. It is not more than a few hours walk," the Eidolon says to them all. "However... there is quicksand on the opposite side, and where you are trying to go is blocked by it."

Eiko is pouting and she says, "Oh, who cares about quicksand? I'm just glad you're alright!"

The wolf's mouth curls into an almost smile and he gently shakes his neck free of the girl's grip.

"Why would I be otherwise?"

His eyes, clearly visible in the dark, go over the group. "You should consider moving on in the mornin. Your companions look exhausted."

Puck casts his own glance at the group and hears the wolf chuckling. "Little king, it is good to see you again. I was afraid that after I left, you did something... irrational."

"That'd be completely unlike me," the Burmecian drawls.

Eiko looks to Puck and then shakes her head. "I hope you two aren't going to fight every time you meet."

The Eidolon nudges Eiko's hand and says, "I must go. I have..."

"It's okay," the girl says as the wolf trails off, "I know. You do what you have to, and we'll do what we have to... after some sleep."

"A wise decision," Fenrir mutters. "Goodbye, my master."

Even before the wolf starts pacing away, he is dissolving into thin air.

No one really says anything until the wolf is gone and Eiko has turned back to them. With a grin, she exclaims, "Let's make camp!"

Puck sends his guards a look and they quickly jump to setting up the few tents they have brought. He then looks to Eiko and grins.

"Maybe you guys should go... wash off in the lake. You're covered in muck."

"That's what happens," Amarant growls, before glaring half heartedly at the tents. "Is one of those for Freya?"

The youngest guard pulls the flap of one tent aside. "Of course."

With a grunt, the bounty hunter hunches over and steps inside – tents aren't roomy enough but he manages to put Freya down and get out without ripping the spikes out of the ground.

"What do we do?" Steiner asks, hand falling to his side.

Eiko smiles at him benignly and says, "Sleep, dummy."

The knight's face flushes slightly and he turns away, mumbling something about washing up and then walking away. That kind of confuses Puck, because every time he's seen Steiner, the guy's been marching everywhere, and he certainly never ran away when someone teased him. Then again, the end of the world does weird things to people.

Beatrix sighs and moves off after Steiner, and Puck notes his guards' careful gazes after her. They don't trust her, not even after four years, but he really couldn't care less what any of them think. They're all at their wits' ends and none of them know what to expect from anyone anymore; he understands their fears, even if he doesn't agree with them.

Eiko is pulling on his sleeve, and he turns to face her.

"Can Garnet and I use one of those tents, or...?"

"Yeah, of course," Puck nods, "Take whichever you want. I'm going to stay out here for tonight."

Eiko gives him a long, slightly sympathetic look that kind of annoys the young king, and then leads Garnet to the tent with Freya in it. He finds that reassuring – Eiko is one of the greatest white mages he's met, and that's saying something. If Freya needs help in the night, there's no one better to help her.

Amarant is still standing with his back to the group, arms crossed and staring out over the water. Lani is down on the shoreline, just a few meters away, half in the water and shivering a little as she tries to get the grime off. Puck's not sure if it's because the water's cold... or if it's because they don't know what's in the lake.

He can just barely hear raised voices farther down the lake – Steiner and Beatrix, he figures. Amarant's head turns slightly in the direction of the noise and then he glances at the young king. With a short nod, the Burmecian goes to his guards and begins to plan with them the next few days in their journey to Burmecia. Behind him, Puck catches muttering and pieces together a disjointed monologue on gravitational pull, Gaia's rotation, and time being irrelevant.

* * *

Freya wakes up with her stomach in painful knots but her mind is, surprisingly, relatively clear. It's been a long time since she's been able to really, coherently wake up and she's thankful for it – even if her stomach is digesting itself.

She struggles a little, silently, against coarse bedsheets and when those are gone she crawls out of the fairly spacious tent on all fours, ignoring the dark shadows in the corner.

The two moons are high and have only barely passed one another – it's just past midnight – and they reflect of that huge, unnatural lake that has so naturally found its place in Burmecia.

There are guards surrounding the campsite and she realizes they're all Burmecians – and her heart leaps. She nearly cries out but manages to keep calm, eyes going over the entire scene as carefully and quickly as she can without letting herself get carried away. Who knows? This might be just another dream. Hell, she could be _dead_, this could be the afterlife. Maybe she's not even really here. She could very well be a ghost watching new travelers try to find their way around the Great Lake.

She catches paws against the dry grass and turns to meet King Puck face to face, his eyes shining and wide and just all mixed up in emotion.

"_Freya_," he breathes, not loud enough to catch anyone's attention.

"...Your M-Majesty."

She rules out the afterlife.

He repeats her name and then reaches forward, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her into a tight hug. She rules out dreaming as well, because it certainly never feels this real in her dreams.

"I'm sorry," he apologizes quickly, stepping back, "I'm acting so irrationally."

"It's understandable," she rasps.

"Enough with the reunions," a dull voice comes from near the fire, and a few guards turn to see the two Burmecians and the hulking redhead who has spoken. "Get the rat something to eat before she collapses again."

"Oh, yeah!" Puck exclaims, "We have leftovers from dinner for you, 'cos we knew you'd wake up." He grins at her uneasily, "Even when you're completely healthy you can barely sleep more than five hours. Sit down, how long have you been walking around? Hey, you," he snaps at a gaping guard, "Get some food for Freya already, would you?"

"You're too energetic," Amarant growls as Puck leads Freya over to him and sits her down just a few feet away.

"You're too crazy," Puck responds glibly, looking much too happy for an end of the world scenario. Freya never understood how the younger Burmecian could keep such a hyperactive personality in the face of all he's seen. Then again...

The King runs off to help with food and Freya turns to Amarant.

"Of all the people," she says quietly. "...How is it?"

He turns his face to her and it really takes a lot of power not to make a noise at what is presented to her.

"I think you know," he mutters and she realizes she doesn't have a lot of power. He turns back to the fire and, with a sigh, gives her a basic outline of all that's happened and all that probably will happen. When she asks _why_ it's all happening, he chuckles humorlessly and says, "Ask a goddamned Eidolon, maybe _you'll_ get better results than we have."

Puck comes back with carrots, some stale bread, a casket of water and some dried meat. He tells her to eat slowly and then quickly shuffles off at her request.

"You said," she mutters quietly, pushing the food around a little, "That both Alexandria and Lindblum were hit hard."

"You better eat," Amarant grumbles.

"How many casualties?"

"I'm not giving you statistics until you eat, you crazy, anorexic rat." He gives her a surprisingly worried glance, "Your fur's hanging off in ropes."

She turns her head to the food and finds it almost unappetizing. Something about that sets off warning bells, but they're dull and she slowly chews through the bread and carrots. Her stomach growls and she nearly retches half way through this but she forces it down. Her stomach can't afford to eat itself anymore.

"How many casualties?" she asks again, chewing on the meat thoughtfully.

"...Lindblum's not shorthanded. Maybe... every one of twenty or so survived. Alexandria... More places to gauge. Treno's one in fifty or sixty, and there are only a few hundred... Alexandria City is maybe a hundred, tops."

"And of that one hundred..." She looks to the tents, "How many are here?"

"You're asking if anyone you know, personally, died."

The fact that he doesn't phrase it as a question unnerves Freya. That means he's either much better at reading her, or he's been asked that question too often.

"...I suppose that's what I'm looking for."

When he tells her she lets out one small noise – that's all.

She doesn't speak the rest of the night.

* * *

The sun shines against the Great Lake and it takes a lot of effort for Steiner to direct his gaze to other, less bright things – partly because the sunlight is so distracting, and partly because there's not much else to look at.

The lake seems to be much larger than they had previously thought – they've walked nearly ten miles and there's still a great deal of shoreline ahead, with nothing drawing Eiko's attention away. A part of him does note that they're slowly working away from the shore, but it's not enough to raise any suspicions yet so he stays quiet.

Beatrix is far ahead of him and he tries desperately not to let that get to him. They had fought last night, all because Beatrix had asked why he was separating _himself_ from _her_! The thought of that drives him almost mad, because he certainly hadn't tried to stay away from _her_. He knows that this isn't their first fight, but like all the others, he hopes it will be their last.

Eiko is talking with Puck, hand in hand with Garnet, and Steiner realizes how young all of the leaders _are_. Garnet is only twenty – the second youngest queen Alexandria's ever had; Puck is about thirteen, as he remembers; and Eiko is only ten.

Hands of the young, and such.

He hasn't really thought of it – he put it far away from his mind – but he has no idea as to what, precisely, they're traveling for. He's sure that there is a very important task at hand, but it seems that only Eiko and Garnet have any idea as to what is going on. He makes a mental note to question the two later on, when he has the chance. He wants to know what they're doing.

Freya is limping along nearby, eyes down on the grass and sand and Steiner has a feeling someone told her about the rest of the continent – about Zidane.

Who's going to tell his sister?

He makes a note to discuss that as well.

His breathing is becoming a little labored and so he quits thinking and starts focusing on the exercise at hand.

Nearly five miles later, Eiko is definitely turning away from the shoreline.

Amarant speaks up first. "You know where we're going, brat?"

"Of course I do," the girl responds, marching along smartly with Garnet on one side and Puck on the other. "We're going to the ocean."

Freya's ears flick forward and she raises her head, looking at the back of the girl incredulously. "There... There is still an ocean?"

"Of course there is," she sighs.

"That would be silly," Freya agrees in a distracted voice, ears flattening against her skull.

Before them is a vast expanse of sand and, in the distance, the shining view of the sea. But before Eiko can even take one more step towards their goal, Puck stops her with a hand on her shoulder.

"Wait, Eiko!" He points to the sand, "We can't walk across that."

"Why not?"

"It's all quicksand, lady Eiko," one of the guards speaks up.

They look out at the desert and yes, in the distance Steiner can see it moving. It's subtle but it's there.

"Really?" Eiko looks out over the desert in confusion. "I guess it is. I think I can fix that, though... Ama-chan, could you give me the bag?"

The bounty hunter, staring apprehensively at the vast, deadly desert before them, moves up to the girl and puts the rather hefty sack on the ground in front of her. With a grin at him, the summoner digs through and pulls out a dented wooden case. Inside the case is a long, smooth flute – Steiner thinks it might be metal but it looks almost too soft and rubbery for that. It has a few engravings on it but they look to be purely aesthetic, with no words hidden in the loops and curves.

"You brought one of those things with us?" Amarant asks in disapproval.

"Why are you so against music?" she responds, eyes narrowing a little, "Grow up, would you?"

He stares at her almost uncomprehendingly and she smirks in triumph, turning to the desert and barely getting out five notes before the wolf is materializing beside her.

"Sorry," the girl apologizes as Fenrir turns his head to look at her in confusion. "I didn't think I'd need to... We can't get across the quicksand."

He looks out over the desert and nods. "I would not think so."

"Could you pull the sand up to the surface, maybe?"

Amarant snorts. "How is he going to do that?"

The Eidolon looks to Amarant in amusement, but says nothing to him.

"Would you, Fenrir?"

The wolf, in response, begins to pace across the wet, watery sand.

His paws touch the sand and it hardens beneath him and around him, creating a solid sand walkway through the quicksand. Eiko laughs in appreciation and starts after him – with a glance around and a quick wave, she gets the others to follow as well.

Amarant is the last and he, surprisingly, hesitates. Steiner looks back to see him standing at the very edge of the new walkway, and then hears the Eidolon's voice ahead, "Why are you hesitating?"

"...What are you doing?" the bounty hunter asks warily.

"Quicksand is, essentially, very wet sand. I am simply separating the sand and the water. It will fall back once we are across."

Amarant looks about to say something, about to tell them "no, sorry, can't do it" – but then Eiko turns and looks at him so he shrugs and follows after Lani quickly enough.

Steiner is used to sand shifting under his feet, so it takes him by slight surprise to be faced with hard, rock-like footing, rather than soft padding.

Beatrix is ahead of him again and he sighs, wanting to reach out and apologize for last night, and tell her that he'd never try to push her away, but she's out of reach by now, eyes on the approaching horizon and hand on the hilt of her sword. She doesn't want to talk right now. It can wait.

The sand suddenly shifts under his feet and he sinks a few inches.

"Please move faster," Fenrir says from the front of their line, "I am not holding up the path behind us."

"What if we need to get back?" Puck asks warily, picking up his pace and trying to keep up with the wolf.

"Do not worry so much about that. When you need to return, I will take you back."

The king nods, but doesn't slow down and Steiner wonders why he's so worried. Something about the Eidolon makes him feel at ease – he can't understand why the king is not feeling the same.

The sea is close now – only another quarter of a mile – and the sand under Steiner's feet starts to soften. He wonders why the wolf is giving them less time, but begins to pick up his pace when Lani, behind him, puts a hand on his arm.

"Something's wrong," she tells him lowly, and his eyes immediately look to Amarant, who is staring determinedly at the sky and keeping his pace slow and steady. If he didn't look so worried, Steiner wouldn't see a problem.

The sand is starting to dampen under Steiner's feet and the ground is sloping gently towards the bounty hunter.

Fenrir turns his head suddenly and stops, teeth bared slightly in worried surprise.

"Can't you hold me up?" Amarant growls hoarsely, and his feet are sinking steadily. He's not walking anymore and Steiner grabs Lani's arm before she can run to him.

"What did you _do_?" Fenrir exclaims, but Amarant can't respond – he kind of tilts forward and lands on his knees in the depression around him, which is steadily filling with water, arms over his head and curled inward.

The ground underneath Steiner's feet suddenly sags and he realizes that they're sinking just as quickly as Amarant – only they're not going to drown in water, but _sand_.

"Don't move!" Beatrix's voice comes from somewhere behind them and Steiner's kind of grateful she sounds so worried. Lani looks more worried over Amarant than herself and this confuses the knight a bit.

The bounty hunter is nearly gulping the sandy water and he's bleeding from his ears, neck straining now to keep his head above water but it's almost as if it's too _hard_ for him to do just that.

There's a sudden shake and the sand begins to dry quickly around their feet. Fenrir has control over the ground again and Amarant isn't having so much trouble in the hole – he's gagging a little from choking on water and pushing himself up onto the now-dry, solid sand pathway, breathing ragged and body limp.

"Amarant!" Lani exclaims, moving to his side and putting a hand to his shoulder. "What the hell was that?"

His eye opens narrowly and he manages to shrug.

Fenrir casts a disapproving look at the bounty hunter; Steiner wonders why.

After a moment, Amarant forces himself up and shakes his head a little, dislodging some sand in his dreadlocks and allowing him to get a brief view of everyone. He finally sighs and says, "It's nothing."

The wolf's eyes flash and Steiner realizes that whatever Amarant's done, it's very far from nothing.

"Endangering your companions hardly constitutes as _nothing_," Fenrir snarls, before stalking forward abruptly. Eiko manages to give Amarant one of her very definitive, "we'll-talk-later" looks and gently leads Garnet along.

Before Steiner can say anything to Beatrix, who is looking at him strangely, she turns and walks away. For some reason, that kind of hurts.

Still, he turns and offers his shoulder – not much else to lend – to Amarant, who is still trying to keep his balance. He looks warily at the knight, but then accepts, allowing the older man to pull his arm over his shoulders.

Lani is in front of them, but just barely, and they move forward just as the sand starts melting beneath them.

"Fucking crazy," Amarant growls. Steiner looks at the bounty hunter inquiringly and so he continues: "This whole fucking situation."

He mumbles something under his breath that Steiner isn't supposed to hear.

"I wish Zidane were here."


	14. The New World

The sand on the "beach" is just as coarse as the sand in any desert and some parts of it are looking almost like quicksand. It's a desolate and unhappy place and Eiko wishes that things could be different – but the Burmecian citadel has been demolished and what was left of the ruined Cleyra has sunk beneath the sand they had just passed over.

The Burmecian soldiers – all of them strong, capable individuals – have a kind of wary, unsettled feeling to them and Eiko doesn't think they'll ever get over what's happened.

"What are we doing here?" Puck asks the summoner in a quiet voice, trying not to draw attention to them, "It's a dead end. Unless you're planning on swimming?"

He doesn't mean it sarcastically and Eiko smiles at him – he probably wouldn't be surprised if she did just start wading out into the water.

No, she's got something much better. Hopefully the water levels didn't crush her surprise.

She walks up the beach a little ways until she is within a few meters of a low rock wall, the beginnings of the mountains that have crumbled slightly under Eidolon command.

Here, she lifts her flute to her lips and before Amarant can reprimand her on her "stupid music" she is casting a spell – one she hasn't used in _ages_, not since she was last here.

Parts of the rock wall begin to shake and she hears a Burmecian guard exclaim, "She's _moving the mountains_," but no, she's not going to attempt anything so strenuous today.

The movement is focused just off the shore and rocks gently pull away from their places on the cliff, floating towards Eiko and then dropping into the water. None of them are very big but they're all just surrounding a massive boulder, easily five times Amarant's size width. She takes a breath and then begins again, tune harder and faster and fiercer than before.

The rock shudders and she closes her eyes.

When she opens them, the boulder is floating a meter in front of her, and Amarant is telling her to stop because she's turning red.

She does so, and the rock crashes to the ground, shaking the sand and dirt around them.

There is a hole in the cliff now, and Eiko laughs in delight.

"The water didn't wreck it!"

She watches the group strain to look into the newly revealed cave, to understand her excitement, and suddenly Puck exclaims, "You put it behind rocks? Why would you do _that_?"

Eiko smiles and looks at the bow of the Blue Narciss II, and then to the Burmecian king.

"If I told you, it wouldn't be any fun." She crosses her arms and pouts, "We have to get out to it somehow."

Fenrir is pacing along the edge of the quicksand and looks to Eiko worriedly. She smiles at him in response.

"First," Amarant growls, earning the attention of all the others, "We'd have to be able to navigate that damned thing. Unless _you_ can, or one of these rats is a damned sailor, you've hit your first snag."

"I hate it when you're so serious!" the girl exclaims. "It's not hard to figure out!"

"...I, um."

The entire group now looks to the young guard, who has his ears flat against his head.

"You _what_?" Amarant snaps.

"...My father was a sailor," he says in a quiet voice, "I can handle ships fairly well."

"There we go!" Eiko nods, "We have someone who can navigate her. Now, we need to get out to it..."

"Swim," Amarant grumbles, dropping into a crouching position, "I'll wait here."

"Why? You _scared_?" the girl teases.

"Frightened of sinking like a large _stone_, perhaps?" Fenrir snaps.

"Back off, you overgrown Fang."

The Eidolon's hackles raise and he growls, sending the Burmecian guards for cover.

Eiko knows why the Eidolon is getting so upset but it's not good for anyone – if he gets too angry, he might do something...

"Fenrir, please," she tries.

The wolf looks to her fiercely but she returns his gaze and he backs away from Amarant slightly.

"...As you wish," he growls.

"Let's just get out there. We can take the Blue Narciss II to Madain Sari."

Fenrir looks away and Garnet asks, "Won't that be dangerous?"

"Everything's dangerous, princess," Amarant mutters, standing up again and heading towards the water. "We better get going."

Eiko turns to Puck, who seems to already know what she's about to say. "Puck... I don't think you guys should come."

"Nonsense," one guard speaks up, "We have to-"

"Shut up, you old rat," Puck snaps.

He looks at Eiko for a long moment and then nods. "I don't think it'd be a good idea either. We need to stay here... to help Lindblum and Alexandria. Not much left to do for Burmecia."

That hurts Eiko almost as much as it does the king and she wraps her arms around him. "It'll be okay, Puck. I know there are still Burmecians in the world – Cleyrians went to Daguerreo, after all, and I'm sure there are some in Esto Gaza. Not everyone was here."

"...Lady Eiko."

The two step away as if caught in a crime and look to Freya, who is standing there with her head down but ears forward.

"...I would like to offer my services to your quest."

Eiko smiles and shakes her head. "No way, Freya." Before the Dragon Knight, now shocked, can say anything, the girl continues: "I know you want to stay here. You're needed _here_. We can do this part alone... Take care of Burmecia and Puck first."

She's not sure if that's relief or just acceptance on Freya's face but she takes it well, nodding and stepping away.

Puck turns to her. "You sure you don't need any of us?"

"Just the one who knows how to sail."

The king looks over his shoulder at the young guard, who winces slightly and scratches his ear in embarrassment, and then turns back to Eiko. "Just don't _kill_ him, okay? He's one of my better guards."

The guard's fur bristles slightly and he looks away.

"I'll do my best," she tells them both. With a bit of flair, she turns to the sea and says, "We better get going, you guys – there's no time to lose!"

As she marches towards the ocean, she hears Fenrir behind her.

"Come, little king. I will take you and your companions back across the sand."

Puck calls after her, telling her to be safe, and then she reaches the water.

She doesn't look back as she wades in.

* * *

The ship is kind of rickety, but Amarant's not really complaining. It definitely reminds him of the now-defunct Blue Narciss – it has the same stream-lined build and the same designs on the hull, but it's bigger and built more for shoreline work, not going across the sea.

Eiko knows what she's doing, he reminds himself. She's got divine help.

Already the shoreline is just a speck, and he has a feeling that this trip – normally six days on water – is going to be only half the time it normally is. Not that that's bad – he wants nothing more than to finish this and be done with the entire ordeal – but he's almost sure that being out in open waters for any length of time is a bad idea.

Amarant shifts his weight onto his other foot and puts his hands against the heavy wooden railing. The thing he likes about the ocean is that it always looks the same. Even if Bahamut has attacked ships on the water, they're well below and it's as if they never existed.

The thought that there are perhaps hundreds of dead sailors beneath them at this very moment makes him turn away and stalk towards the navigation deck.

Eiko, Beatrix, and Garnet are somewhere below, having a private conversation about what is going to happen when they hit the Outer Continent. The rest of them are forced to hang around and wait for the solution to their problems.

If there _is_ one.

He enters the cabin to find the Burmecian guard-cum-sailor staring off at the very farthest vanishing point of the horizon, hands kind of slack on the wheel.

"Hey, shouldn't you be _steering_?" he growls.

The Burmecian snaps to attention, eyes returning to the here and now.

"Uh, yes, I – I am. You know, there's no set destination for us, other than the Outer Continent."

"So what?" Amarant asks, crossing his arms and leaning against the bare wall to the back of the cabin.

"Well, without a destination – how am I to know if we're going the right way?"

"The right way is away from Burmecia. You got that down?"

"...Well, yes."

"Then we're doing fine."

The Burmecian makes a noise but nods in agreement.

After a time, Amarant decides to ask, "What's your name, anyway?"

The guard jumps again. "...Eumol," he mutters, and then turns his head. "And yours is Amarant, right?"

"You been eavesdropping, kid?"

Eumol's ears flatten against his head slightly and he says quietly, "Perhaps a little."

Amarant snorts. "Don't get us lost," he tells the other, before leaving.

* * *

Water is Lani's least favorite thing in the world – the things that could be lurking underneath cause her no small amount of paranoia, and even now, in the dark and in the middle of the deck, she can _feel_ and _hear_ the sea – that's all she needs to fuel her fears.

She doesn't like ships because they rock around so much. She feels like she's about to go toppling into the ocean. She had complained to the Burmecian but the brat had waved her off, telling her to "grow up."

She hates that brat _so much_.

The deck's only illumination is the blue moon – the light casts blued shadows over the wood and tints her skin. She's alone on deck, sitting with her knees up against her chest and arms wrapped around her calves. The rocking isn't so bad here and she can see the horizon – not that there's much to see.

Water, water, everywhere.

The Queen, General, and Brat have given their decision – they'll swing loose around the shore of the Outer Continent and land as close to Madain Sari as possible. Madain Sari will be safe, Eiko had told them – it's a holy place that the Eidolons won't dare touch.

That is, if they haven't already destroyed everything on the other continent.

She saw Steiner and Beatrix earlier in the evening, talking under their breath and exchanging words of either apology, accusation, or annoyance. And fear. Fear seems to be an underlying emotion throughout this entire ordeal.

The deck creaks and she decides she better go to her cabin and try to get some sleep. Standing, she brushes herself off and rolls her shoulders, looking up at the blue moon for a long while. It's so strange to see only one moon. The blue one's her favorite – Eirini is what the scholars call it; Polemos is the red one. All the legends say that the blue one is feminine while the red is masculine – that the blue promotes peace while the red promotes war.

Ironic that the first one to shine solely upon them is the blue.

There's a sudden flash from just below Eirini and she jumps in surprise. Beyond the horizon, barely visible, is more blue light, bright and almost blinding. Her hands come up over her eyes almost instinctively and she tries to figure out what the _hell_ that could be, because things like this don't happen for no reason –

The sound of water rushing away from the boat alerts her to massive impending damage and the sudden heave as the boat drops almost a fathom pitches her forward and knocks her head against the wood railing.

She struggles to stand as the ship rocks dangerously from side to side, and when she looks up all she can see is water, with a lingering serpentine shape just visible in the deep blue

She screams, one sharp and piercing, quick note – and water rushes downwards.

A hand grabs her shoulder and she shuts her eyes, but no water smothers her and she can breathe fine.

She takes a moment and then opens her eyes, trying to see the wall of sea but only finding a smooth, motionless horizon in front of her.

She turns and Amarant's standing there, face battered from Treno but not soaking wet and not burst apart by the force of water, and he's asking her something, his mouth is moving too fast but she thinks he's asking "What the hell is wrong with you?"

She doesn't know.

She shrugs out of his grasp and crosses her arms tightly, realizing very suddenly that she hallucinated the whole thing. Again.

Again, when last time she was really predicting.

Amarant grabs her shoulder once more and she looks at him. "What do you want, Red?" she asks, trying to pull off clueless and apparently getting it right. Now he looks like maybe he's thinking _he _hallucinated _her_. Amarant's easy enough to confuse if you do it just right, when he's thinking just the right way.

He shakes his head and motions towards the steep stairwell down to the cabins.

"I was just going there," she says, and when she walks away, he doesn't follow.

She climbs down the stairs and she goes the wrong way from the start, heading towards Eiko's quarters. The kid knows what Lani doesn't, and Lani's tired of not knowing.

Beatrix stalks past her, appearing from the gloom and almost immediately disappearing in it. The other woman's been very uptight lately, and she has a feeling it has something to do with good sir knight. Or, maybe it has nothing to do with him... but the fact that it doesn't is what's causing the rift between them.

Either way, she walks by and finds Steiner's door half open. He's sitting on the bed, head tilted down and eyes on his feet. His hair is dirty, ragged, and it's probably longer than he wants it – he's even tying it back now.

Steiner looks up and then stands, going to the door and looking at her levelly. There's a little less of that good-hearted, small-town knight in his eyes and his left hand awkwardly grips the handle, as if he's about to slam it in her face.

"...I had another hallucination."

The door creaks slightly but it's opening wider, and he steps to the side, so she enters and tries not to shake when he closes the door. They're technically under the water and at any moment, this whole room could flood.

She looks to him and asks, casually, "Your lady being a little chilly tonight, sir knight?"

He doesn't even look her way – he just goes back to the bed and sits.

She feels suddenly a little self-conscious and mutters, "Sorry."

He waves a hand in response – utterly nonchalant and completely unlike what she's now used to seeing in the knight.

"Tell me what you saw," his mouth reads, so she leans against the wall and looks around.

"I was going to tell the brat. You know how I had that whole _Bahamut_ thing... and how that turned out."

He nods.

She looks at the ceiling, counts the knots in the wood and says, "I saw a tidal wave."

He shifts and puts his hands on his knees. His eyes get that look she so often imagines in her own and she smirks.

"You afraid of water?"

He shakes his head but she knows the real answer.

"...There was something in the wave," she continues, deciding to let the other matters drop for now. This is more important.

She explains to him how the ship was rocking, and how the water loomed up like a mile high wall and just inside it she saw a snake.

His lips fill in the word _Leviathan_ and she shudders involuntarily.

"I guess I'll go tell the brat, huh?" she rasps, not feeling at all like talking to anyone now.

He closes his eyes and nods.

Lani decides to fuck it all – it's the end of the world and he's not acting like himself anyway.

"Are you okay?"

Those three words cause such a strong reaction in the knight. He opens his eyes and stares at her in a kind of... relieved disbelief, as though he can't picture her saying it but _god_ is he glad she did.

He motions to the corner of the room and she sees a shoddy looking desk – likely made out of driftwood as one of the brat's summer projects years ago – and goes to it, finding old and slightly stiff parchment and a fountain pen. The pen is nice, really nice, and it has the Regent's name monogrammed on it.

She takes it to him because hell, she started this and she's kind of wondering how it will turn out.

So she stands by him while he writes out literally pages of rambling stories about how the Queen was such a strong girl who just didn't _know it_ until Zidane came along, and how Beatrix was the most beautiful woman he'd ever met until she started kind of withering under her skin, and how he just wants to go back and stop this all from happening because _damn it_ he actually had something good for once. He was respected and trusted and loved, and now, again, all of that's gone and he's stuck without his armor, without his _arm_. He's without his Queen, who's half shut-off so that Zidane doesn't hurt her anymore, and he's without his wife, who's silent and uncomplaining and secretive. He had such a nice thing going on, such a happy life and it all got taken away because some goddamned animals couldn't handle anarchy among their ranks.

He knows that none of his knights, none of them are alive; they were all buried and even if they lived through the destruction they surely have died from starvation by now. He knows that his Queen is gone, and his wife is gone, and hell, his grudging leader is gone too and he knows _exactly_ how he feels about it all but he just can't get it out to anyone who cares.

He runs out of space and looks as if he's going to start scrawling across his arm, but he instead puts the pen down and she's been reading over his shoulder without comment. He looks to her and asks wordlessly, "Am I okay?"

She looks over a few of the words she can see from the parchment and then shakes her head. "Do you feel any different now?" she asks, because Amarant used to write for hours at a time before he kind of lost interest in writing, and it always made him feel... different. Not always better, but rarely worse.

When he shakes his head she nods.

"Welcome to the new world, sir knight," she mumbles, before turning on her heel and leaving the room with as little effort as she had arrived.

* * *

The next day is relatively quiet. The sun shines down on them and Eiko spends most of the day on the bow, laughing and talking with anyone who bothers to come within range – by midday Amarant has settled into the shade on deck and the girl has taken to catching up with him.

Beatrix spends most of the day within the navigation cabin with Eumol, who starts calling her "ma'am" and stops being so worried over the General's presence.

Garnet ends up with Amarant and Eiko and there are some moments when Eiko is silent, just listening to Amarant and Garnet talking.

No one asks questions, or really even notes the fact that Lani and Steiner have their eyes on the sea stretching out in front of them. They don't even notice that the only people they're really looking at are each other.

Eiko laughs and is completely unaware, and Lani decides that she really doesn't want to tell anyone anything.


	15. Out of Sight, Out of Mind

By the third morning on the Blue Narciss II, everyone's beginning to get a little anxious. For the past two weeks, they haven't been in one definable area for more than a day – even in Lindblum, they were all over the place – and now the severity of their situation is starting to present itself.

Amarant is still talking with Garnet but Eiko has now left them, instead going to the navigation deck to help with directional issues. Eumol is still going towards the shores of the Outer Continent, so they can keep a better view on their location. He tells them all, when they come in at noon for a quick check, that they're nearly there. The ship goes fast, and soon they'll be able to see the shoreline on the starboard side.

Beatrix stays in the navigation room even as the others leave and, after a moment of silence, Eumol speaks up.

"...Is there something I'm doing to make you nervous, ma'am?"

Beatrix focuses back on him and then shakes her head, sighing. "No, it isn't you, Eumol. You're doing fine."

"I'm sorry," he apologizes, "You unnerve me a little, I'm afraid."

"This entire situation doesn't unnerve you as a _whole_?"

The Burmecian shrugs. "Not if I don't think about it."

The General admits defeat and leaves the cabin without another word.

A few weeks ago and she would have argued with the Burmecian, but now it all seems... useless. Everything feels very surreal and almost impossibly complicated, though it's all relatively simple – they are survivors and they are going to die eventually.

She feels the weight of Save The Queen on her hip but it's not the comforting feeling it once was. What good is her blade if her enemies are almost gods?

A look to the starboard side and yes, she can almost make out the heavy cliffs surrounding parts of the Outer Continent. They're slightly wavy in the distance and she wonders if that's from the heat, or if they've simply begun to melt under some Eidolon's force.

She paces along the railing and stays in the shade, watching the others on the open deck. It is almost disturbing how little she really feels when she looks at them – she has already built up walls to protect herself from everyone but her Queen. She has thought of Garnet more than she has thought of her own safety. If she weren't so focused on her surroundings, she might've found that a little disturbing.

Steiner is standing at the bow and she almost goes to him but then realizes he's not alone – he is beside Lani, who is looking apprehensively towards the ocean. She must share Steiner's fear of water; it makes sense for the two to talk if that's the case.

If not...

Eiko stands suddenly and looks to the sky. There's an eerie sense of foreboding as that little girl stares above them and Beatrix feels for Save the Queen.

The ship lurches, and there's a flash of light above them. Her sword is drawn quickly enough but she realizes that the Eidolon above the young summoner is benevolent, so she relaxes even as Eiko exclaims, "Carbuncle!" and holds out her arms in greeting.

The small, almost rabbit-like Eidolon drops with an inhuman grace into the girl's arms, each movement of its head punctuated with the chiming of bells.

"What are you doing here?" the summoner asks.

Carbuncle doesn't speak – it simply tilts its head at Eiko in confusion and then looks towards the bow... towards Lani and Steiner. Its eyes are innocent and it gives them both an utterly confused, completely beguiled stare that makes Steiner frown and Lani fidget.

Before either Beatrix or Eiko can question the two, there is a sudden lurch and the ship tilts sharply portside.

Beatrix, armed as best she can against these godlike creatures, uses the tilt to maximize her speed and slides across the deck in time to see the water rushing away. She steadies herself, but then the starboard side tilts and she is almost thrown into the water. The sound of air being forced downwards draws her gaze – and most likely everyone's – skyward.

The bluesilver scales of Leviathan are both glorious and utterly horrific, and Beatrix finds herself unable to tear her eyes away. The dragon slides out of the water; its wings are huge and seem to almost be sucking the water away from the boat.

Eiko tells them all to get to the navigation cabin but it isn't until she hears Steiner's armor clanking behind her that she turns and glares. He is the only one other than her on deck, and he is looking at her in worry.

"What did you do?" she snarls, not caring that this is her husband, and not caring that it was most likely not his fault at all.

"...We must get to the navigation room," he tells her, voice at a whisper in comparison to Leviathan's wingbeats.

She follows him without word and they enter the now crowded room with trepidation.

Carbuncle is floating outside, almost over the bow, and is looking at Leviathan in surprise. Almost as if asking, "What are you doing here?"

Eumol has the wheel in such a tight grip that Beatrix thinks she can hear the wood splintering.

"He's going to make a wave," Lani tells the Burmecian, eyes as wide as his, "He's going to bring the water up on the... the side he's on. It's going to be big."

"How do you know?" Beatrix asks, but already the Burmecian is turning the wheel hard to starboard, looking around.

"Grab onto something, I'll try to get us out from under the crest if I can-"

Amarant is beside Beatrix and has a hand on her shoulder. "Put your sword away," he growls, and only then does she realize she's holding Save The Queen in a ready position. Lani is looking at her vaguely, as if acknowledging the danger of the other woman but not paying it enough attention.

Beatrix sheathes her sword and steadies herself as the ship rocks violently.

Outside, Carbuncle is floating higher, closer to Leviathan. The dragon god hisses, much more snakelike than Bahamut, and issues a warning all can understand even if there is no voice – "Do not interfere with the destruction of these people."

Carbuncle floats and his wide eyes simple stare in slight comprehension at Leviathan, just as the wave comes over the side and rises above them all.

Chimes fill the air and Eumol's hand slides over a smooth control panel, flipping a single switch. The engine, which has been lying dormant for their trip, now roars to life – they lurch forward and the wave crashes in a spiral, crest meeting base just barely behind them.

Beatrix looks through both port and starboard windows and, though all she can see is water, they are not crushed and there is a delicate tint to the colors outside – they are inside a tunnel of water and Carbuncle is holding it off.

"We need to get out of this!" Lani shouts, but no one's paying that much attention.

Eumol turns the wheel hard towards the crest of the wave and tells them to hold on tight – the tsunami could burst their ship but they are bursting instead through it. The wave crashes behind them but the Burmecian has to force the ship so that it does not sail directly into Leviathan, who has something small and green in his mouth –

"_Carbuncle!_" Eiko screams as the blue sheen disappears from them and the dragon god's jaws clench down around the small Eidolon. A small struggle and then nothing – legs go limp, head goes limp, and the snake god drops the other from his mouth, blue-green-red blood covering its maw and sliding across silverblue scales.

Carbuncle slides under the waves and Eiko cries out and clutches her chest.

Leviathan twists his head around and exhales loudly, creating huge gusts of wind – His eyes roll back in his head and he rises out of the water, wings pushing water back behind the boat.

Beatrix ignores the summoner girl on the ground and races out of the navigation cabin, getting a good look at the huge wave – much bigger than before – forming behind the stern.

"We can't ride that out," Amarant growls from behind her and turns to Eumol, "We can't ride that out!"

"We can and we will!" the Burmecian growls, forcing the engine and guiding the boat quickly under the Snake.

There's a roar, and the boat lurches forward, and suddenly Beatrix can feel the entire boat start to slide backward on a huge wave –

Amarant shoves her to the side and grabs Eiko, holding her against him and saying, "Swim _up_!"

Beatrix grabs for Garnet just as the water comes crashing down.

**IIIIIIII**

The Blue Narciss II is destroyed upon impact.

Steiner vaguely feels pressure in his hand and forces himself to find up, forces his legs to move and then forces himself to feel the hand clenched in his – forces himself to hold his breath just a little longer and forces himself not to let go of whoever it is he has a hand on when that hand goes limp. _Just a bit upward_, he thinks, _Just a bit upward_.

He breaks the surface and forces his legs to move some more. He pulls on the hand and forces Lani's head to the surface and she gasps for air, grabbing at his arms now and kicking him a few times while she gets used to swimming.

"We're alive?" she asks.

He doesn't chance an answer.

**IIIIIIII**

Amarant feels very little but he knows that he's got his arms full of Eiko and he can't possibly let her go for anything. His legs are strong enough so he kicks upwards, but everything around him is black and his eye stings – hell both eyes sting but he won't complain.

Eiko shifts and he feels her try to kick and then a glow fills his vision, a big ethereal arrow pointing the opposite direction of the sky, the opposite of safety and she says, somewhere in his head, "I need to find Carbuncle..."

He shakes his head and continues up and even though she struggles a little... she knows that it doesn't matter now.

They break the surface and look around. In the distance, Amarant can see the beaches of the continent and closer to them he can hear Lani's panicking.

"Lani, shut up!" he shouts hoarsely, forgetting that she can't hear.

"Amarant!" Steiner's voice responds, and then Lani shouts for him as well.

"Carbuncle," Eiko whimpers and Amarant pulls her a little bit closer, just to let her know she can't go down herself.

Nearby, he hears sudden splashing and gasping and sees that Beatrix and Garnet are alive – there is more relief in this revelation than he thought there would be.

Beatrix has a hold of Garnet, who isn't a bad swimmer herself, and after they stop coughing and gasping, they make their way over to Amarant and Eiko.

"We need to get to shore," Beatrix tells them.

"Lani's over there," Amarant responds, waving briefly in a direction, "I guess the knight is too."

He's surprised she doesn't look so relieved at that.

"Steiner!" he shouts instead, "Swim towards shore!" In the distance he can hear Lani and the knight starting for the continent.

"Wait," Eiko rasps, "Where's Eumol...?"

Amarant looks around and shouts the Burmecian's name a few times but gets nothing in response.

"We need to find him," Garnet says, "We need to..."

"We'll find him, your Majesty," Beatrix promises – and with that she can't go back. "Amarant, help the Queen."

He holds out an arm and Beatrix guides the Queen to him – if this were any other time he might...

The General dives underwater and the three are left to tread water.

Eiko's shoulders start shaking but the water is too warm for her to be cold, and Amarant doesn't know how to handle it. So he looks to Garnet and asks, "Are you alright?"

"Carbuncle..." she whispers, "I... I can't feel him anymore. I know I could feel him before."

"He's _gone_!" Eiko sobs into Amarant's shoulder, "He's _gone_...!"

Almost two minutes pass and Amarant is contemplating having the two summoners tread water alone when suddenly there's gasping behind him. He turns his head and sees Beatrix with the wet rag of a Burmecian half over her shoulder.

"We need to get to shore," she rasps, and he doesn't ask if Eumol's alive or not. Instead, he tells Eiko to start kicking and stop crying, and manages to get the two summoners to concentrate on swimming, rather than the very dead Carbuncle.

**IIIIIIII**

They reach the shore with no problems. No sharks, no Leviathan, and the only thing they have to face on land is their own exhaustion.

Amarant helps Garnet and Eiko, then turns to find Steiner and Lani some yards away, lying side by side and looking at the sky contently. Beatrix is on the beach with Eumol at her feet, and he can only barely see the Burmecian's chest moving under thick clothing.

He stumbles over to Lani and Steiner and says, "Everyone's here," even before Steiner can ask.

Lani looks to Amarant and asks, "Are we alive?"

He nods in response, and then points in the direction of the others. "Come on," he grumbles, and even as he turns away he can hear them struggling to stand.

They reach the other four to find Eumol vomiting water onto the sand and, in between gags, apologizing for wrecking the ship.

"I thought," he rasps, "That it could handle..."

"It's alright," Eiko tells him softly, "We're all alive, that's all that matters."

Garnet is wiping at her forehead and Amarant wants to help her up but doesn't know what they're doing.

"Where are we?" she asks.

Steiner looks about the dry, ragged land, but he is inevitably drawn back to the sea, looking out over the blue for bluesilver blurs.

"We shouldn't be too far from Conde Petie. An hour's walk, perhaps," he mumbles, though it's more to himself than to everyone else.

Eumol stands shakily and then pulls his shirt off, wringing it out in mild annoyance. "We should try to find somewhere shady," he tells them, ears flattening against his scalp.

"If anything, to hide from Leviathan," Steiner agrees halfheartedly, "Where did that snake go?"

"He's gone," Eiko mumbles, "Don't worry about him..."

She grabs Amarant's hand and whispers, "I want to go home."

The bounty hunter knows what she means and looks in the direction he hopes her home is. "We'll get there," he tells her, "We can just take the path through Conde Petie."

Beatrix makes a noise and then says, calmly, "Supposing it is still there."

"Beatrix?" Garnet prompts, head tilted in the general direction of the woman.

"Your Majesty – if Leviathan was so close to the continent before we even laid eyes on it... would it not be safe to assume that He has already decimated at least the shoreline?"

Amarant looks around. In theory, Beatrix would be right – this entire part of the continent should be ruined. But... "It all looks fine."

The hunter catches a slight nod from Lani – a nod of agreement – and immediately grabs her shoulder. "What are you nodding about, you deaf wench?"

Lani blinks at him in confusion and Garnet exclaims, "Amarant!" in a very put-upon voice.

"She can't hear me," he grumbles, turning away from the huntress and looking towards the valley. "We should start for Conde Petie."

The others agree, and under the blazing hot sun, they set out for the dwarven village.

**IIIIIIII**

In the end, Eiko isn't very surprised. She had almost felt it miles offshore – that dull, lifeless feeling she had received from Burmecia before the marsh even began; the same empty ache from Zidane... only this was muffled by distance and lack of knowledge. She had no idea what to expect on this continent.

She realizes now that Leviathan hadn't bothered with the inland, because someone else had already reached it first.

It's interesting to note the precision with which the Eidolon had decimated Conde Petie. The land around the thin strip of valley is fine, with only a few craters from flying stone and wood and bodies.

But the wreckage is too much for her to see. The thick vines that had once held up the heavy dwarven village are now cracked, wrecked, and all nearly torn out from the walls of the valley. They cast their huge, misshapen shadows on the stone rubble and she can almost smell rot.

While the rest look for survivors (_there aren't any_), Eiko skips along the hallways in her memory, bypassing destroyed kitchenware, decimated food stands, and pretending that she can still see the Watchman brothers in the distance, muttering about recent thefts and what thae world's comin' tae (_they always talked funny_). She can hear the dwarves talking even when she sees that they're jaws are slack and they really can't do much talking anymore.

She skips, jumps, leaps, and recalls her old routines to draw attention away from her and Mog (_Mog's gone too, everyone's left me_). When Richard Watchman had eyes they really didn't do him any good, and when Matthew Watchman had ears they really didn't do him any good, so maybe it's best neither of them have those anymore.

Stuck in the past, she collides with Amarant in the present, who grabs her shoulders and then feels her forehead in this weirdly _familial_ way, like he's her big brother or something, and tells her she's got a fever, and they best get into the shade.

"The other's are already on the other side," he tells her.

"No one else to take with us?"

He doesn't respond right away but then, finally, says, "No, no one else."

She sighs and says, "We'll see them in Sanctuary," and skips off without her brother.

She would like to think it was a good thirty paces before she started crying, but she knows it's more like ten. She'd also like to think she was stronger than that, and that Amarant hadn't needed to carry her across stone walls she once climbed and past food carts she once stole from; but she knows better, and Amarant doesn't make any sound to indicate his annoyance with her.

"When we go to Sanctuary," she mumbles, "We'll see them. Right, oniichan?"

In her head, somewhere, she knows he's going to answer "no," but she can't help but try. Maybe he'll...

"...Maybe," he mutters, climbing over a broken table.

She closes her eyes and wishes he would just take her home.

**IIIIIIII**

It takes them two days to get around the valley and reach the forest surrounding the plateau of Outer Continent. Eiko demands that they go to see Vivi before they even think of trying for Madain Sari, and though Vivi can't do them shit six feet under – even thinking that makes Amarant feel guilty – they listen to the girl and follow her. Maybe it's her outburst at Conde Petie, or maybe it's just their exhaustion versus her determination, but she's become the unofficial leader. Even Lani listens to her – because she's the only thing the huntress can hear.

The forest is eerily quiet and it sets Amarant's nerves on edge. There were owls in this area – there were hundreds of owls – but now there's not even the distant sound of wings.

However, it's shady and reminds him of the Mist Continent a little so he forces his unease back.

The trees don't even move in the wind.

Eiko is at the head of the group with Garnet, followed by Beatrix – then there's a gap, which is mostly because Steiner is skulking behind his wife rather than marching beside her. Amarant doesn't blame the other man – the woman had seemed incredibly angry at her husband and he would stay away too.

Then it's him, and Lani behind. Lani's been at the back for a while and he has suspicions that maybe –

"Oh, good."

They turn to the left side of the fork and even though her hair is longer than even Garnet's, and even though her face is softer – and cut up a little, scraped like a kid who fell from a chocobo – Zidane's sister still looks like Zidane.

"I had hoped you would be coming," she deadpans. Her voice is still the same. She still has the same knowing look in her eyes – the two things that Amarant had used to distinguish between her and Zidane.

"But..." She trails off and now looks at the group closely. Her eyes change, her mouth moves, and suddenly she just looks like Zidane with long hair. That same clueless gaze and that same confused expression, but –

"Zidane's dead," Amarant mutters and though he means it only to reassure himself everyone hears. And it's the first time any of them have said it.

That one, two word sentence breaks Garnet into pieces and Amarant forces himself to watch what he's done. The queen's knees buckle and she falls to the ground, leaning against Eiko and wrapping her arms around the little summoner and just _wailing_. And the hunter realizes that's one more image he's never going to be able to erase from his head.

But Mikoto doesn't react any more than she already has. She nods once, and then, after looking to Garnet and Eiko for a long moment, turns towards what must be the Village.

"Come on," she tells them. "We were waiting for you."

She stalks towards the Village and though hesitant, Beatrix and Steiner and Lani follow her. Amarant can't pull himself past the queen and he looks at Eiko.

The little girl looks back at him with that "how could you say that" expression.

He feels incredibly selfish and incredibly weak when all he wants to do is sit down and Stop like the mages do.

So he growls, "The truth hurts, princess," and then stalks after the others, determined to keep the queen out of sight, out of mind.


	16. Around The Edges

The Black Mage Village had been previously the only place Steiner remembers there being thatched huts. And, it's obvious from the lack of life around the place that there has been an attack. However... buildings are still standing and some even still have roofs – just holes in the walls instead.

"How is it possible?" he asks Zidane's sibling. "Alexandria, Lindblum, Burmecia – they were all destroyed. Yet you remain relatively intact."

Mikoto – he forces himself to put _her_ name against her face, rather than Zidane's – turns to the knight and says, voice flat and unassuming, "There was great sacrifice to keep us alive. Follow me."

She doesn't answer questions, Steiner notes in annoyance, but they still follow her around the corner and towards the graveyard. The knight remembers Vivi spending much of his time here... and now he spends all of it.

It's definitely grown. There are many more graves and quite a few are very fresh.

At first, it's as if they're looking right at Vivi all over again – but when the little mage turns and faces them, it's clear that this boy is just that – a boy.

He's dirty and beat up, with a black eye and some cuts on his chin, but he sees them and smiles in contentment. Like everything's alright now.

"Hello," he says, with a voice a little deeper than Vivi's. He's a little taller than the other mage had been. "Thanks, Mikoto – I'm glad you could find them."

"My brother's mate is still in the forest, with the little girl," the Genome drawls, "I suppose I'll go retrieve them and... find them somewhere to rest."

"That's a good idea," the boy nods.

The girl turns, and trudges off.

"Some of them still have trouble with emotions," the boy sighs, "I'm sorry if she said anything a bit abrupt. I'm Pitsel Ornitier... Vivi's last son."

"Pitsel..." Beatrix murmurs, and Steiner forces himself not to look at his wife too long.

"What happened here?" Amarant asks from behind.

The mage sighs and shifts his hat – a nervous gesture Vivi had. "We expected something was going to happen – Mikoto had a... premonition, a few nights before the attack. But we didn't think the Eidolon would attack Conde Petie first... so, we didn't have time to warn them." He gives them a weak smile, "Some dwarves are here, though – they were trading with us when it happened."

"Was it Leviathan?"

Eumol's voice is hoarse and unfamiliar sounding to Steiner, but when he looks back he wishes he hadn't. It's obvious from the Burmecian's fur and expression that he doesn't enjoy the sun and heat, and he looks sick and weak.

"No," Pitsel mutters, "Um, I don't know the name, but it was a dragon. A big, bronze scaled dragon."

"But... How could Bahamut do this?" Beatrix asks, "Bahamut doesn't have the precision involved..."

"There was another Eidolon," the mage tells them, expression turning dark. "The one who sucks up everything."

"Atomos," Amarant supplies.

"They got... into a fight. We could see it from the clock tower... They were near Conde Petie but it was like they were fighting over who got what. Bahamut did something and Atomos..."

Pitsel looks to the graves and says, "Atomos got killed. And Bahamut... bit him." The mage turns back to look at the group and Steiner isn't surprised to see fear in his eyes. "Bahamut bit him and this weird... blood, I guess... fell from the sky and then Bahamut... changed."

He shudders. "Then... he went for Conde Petie. And then... us."

"How could you have gotten out with less damage than even Lindblum?" Steiner asks, and though Pitsel at first is kind of shocked by the question, he sees nothing but reverence in the knight's eyes.

So, he tells them. He tells them that Bahamut swung in low, but the trees are protected so none would burn – and then he came for the clearing. He tells them how all the older mages came together and formed a spell to knock the Dragon King from the sky – and how it failed.

And then, that they had cast one last spell over the Village, that had reached most of the people and most of the buildings before Bahamut breathed fire over them. It had been white magic, awkwardly remembered from long ago training sessions with their former Master, and it had saved them all... at the cost of the mages' lives.

And he tells them that other than the mages and a few Genomes in Conde Petie, no one died, and buildings that would have fell stood... and Bahamut had taken it as a sign, or maybe a warning, and had left them.

And then Pitsel sighs, looking relieved, and says, "It feels good to have people here who know what's going on outside of the continent. I'll take you guys to the inn, and we can get you some food and water... and then figure out what the next step is."

They follow Vivi's son and Steiner wonders if this is a sign that things will be better from here on out.

The inn is in the worst shape out of all the buildings, but it also seems to be the most populated. There are many Genomes wandering about nearby, along with two or three mages and about six dwarves. The dwarves, probably knowing more about devastation than the others, are setting and bandaging wounds the best they can.

The Genomes have changed, subtly, over the years. Some now have narrower eyes, longer noses, and harder, more pronounced facial bones; others have tanned under the sun; even then, a few of them have hair that has changed color, growing either almost white or almost brown, and all shades between.

They still have their tails and still have a sense of facelessness – but there's an underlying personality in each one. Steiner can feel it and loves it, because it reminds him of Alexandria for some reason.

Pitsel gets them water and strange Outer Continent fruit, and then asks, "Did you guys come out here to check the rest of the world, or...?"

Beatrix speaks before anyone else. "We came because Lady Eiko believes there might be answers in Madain Sari. It would be more informative if we spoke with her and Her Majesty."

She stands and looks towards the ruined inn.

Amarant growls, "When did you three get to be the fucking leaders, huh?"

The General turns and glares at the bounty hunter. "When it became apparent that the rest of you are inept at both keeping your mouths _shut_..." Her eyes slide over Lani and then hit Steiner, "...And at opening them."

She turns, and marches off – Pitsel looks at the group with wide eyes, and then quickly follows.

"Fucking bitch," Amarant snarls, standing and sneering at the inn.

Steiner feels something white hot come over him and he stands, grabbing at the hilt of his sword awkwardly. "Everything you say is full of _hate_, you dumb criminal!"

"It doesn't fucking _matter_ anymore, you moron!" Amarant waves a hand at the village around them, their shouting match earning a small crowd. "It doesn't fucking matter what I say! Your wife's a bitch, your Queen's incompetent, Zidane's dead!"

"Shut your mouth, you wretch," Steiner hisses. He doesn't recognize his voice.

"Call me what you will, you crippled shit – in the end I'm going to come out fine and you're going to fucking _die_ because you don't realize that all that matters now is not getting blown to pieces by fucking animals!"

For some reason the knight doesn't realize his sword is drawn until he sees the tip pointing directly at Amarant's throat – and for some reason he doesn't bother to drop it.

Amarant glares, smirks, and rasps, "Go ahead. Dare you. Fucking _dare_ you."

There is absolute silence in the village and Steiner's never heard anything quite so demanding as Amarant's challenge. It's a threat as much as it is a challenge, because if he were to fail –

There's something deceptively soft about Lani's eyes when she steps up to him and puts a hand on the hilt.

"Don't," she commands, applying force and pushing his arm back and down. "He doesn't get it." His sword is now at his side and he's properly disarmed under her gaze.

"Fucking coward," Amarant snarls, turning on heel and stalking off.

Steiner tries to glare at Lani but he realizes she's not trying to protect either of them. So he looks away and sheathes his sword, and she steps back and looks at Eumol.

"Come on, rat," she drawls, voice back to a quieter, normal tone, "Let's go find out where we're staying here."

The Burmecian looks from her to Steiner and the makes an obvious decision, following the bounty huntress quickly and keeping his ears flat.

Steiner sees the crowd try to disperse and makes it easier for them by desperately trying to march in the only direction no one else has gone in – towards the graveyard.

**--------------- **

Mikoto finds herself wandering again. For the past few days since the attack, she has taken to circling the perimeter of the village, with little goal or thought to the act itself. Most of the walk had been spent in contemplation about her brother's fuzzy image in her head... but now, she knows why she can't see him correctly. For some reason, it hurts more than she had expected.

The Genome crosses the bridge leading towards the chocobo hut and realizes that she is approaching the tanned woman from the Mist Continent. She is alone, sitting cross legged in the shade of what's left of the mill, looking pensive and reflecting Mikoto's mood perfectly.

She wonders if it would be rude to interrupt the other woman's thoughts but finds herself walking towards her nonetheless.

"I do not know you," Mikoto says.

The woman blinks but doesn't look directly towards her, and so Mikoto steps directly into her field of vision, earning a glance. "However, I did hear the arguments inside the inn over you and your friends. Is it true you can't hear me?"

_She's not bad_, Mikoto decides as the woman blinks again, trying for confused.

"It's surprising that someone without hearing could see what those two were yelling about, and intervene so promptly. Yet, I suppose it's possible..."

She sits across from the woman and asks, "Am I speaking slowly enough for you to understand what words I am saying?"

"...Yeah," the other responds, leaving the sentence sounding oddly unfinished.

"What is your name?"

"...Lani."

Names have become important to Mikoto in a very short period of time. While other Genomes are struggling with the concept of individuality, she has already grasped it. She knows how to speak like a Genome, and how to speak like Mikoto... the fact that her voice is naturally expressionless and that she has forgone using most contractions in her speech simply deceives most people.

Mikoto flicks her tail and then says, "Do you know what happened to Zidane?"

Lani looks away. "Ask someone else. I didn't know the monkey."

"I see."

They sit there for a while in silence and then Mikoto sighs and asks, "Why are you lying to them?"

Lani doesn't answer.

**---------------**

Amarant feels almost dirty skulking outside of the ring of people, but he doesn't feel like he should be too close to any of the group at the moment. Hell, the only reason he's listening to Beatrix right now is because he needs to be informed. Fuck, if he had it his way...

"Her Majesty has decided that she and Lady Eiko leave for Madain Sari in the morning. If all goes well, we will return within a few nights."

"We?" Amarant snaps. "I wasn't aware that a two-bit General was Queen."

Beatrix's eyes flash and if Amarant weren't feeling a little sick he would probably have returned her new glare more fiercely.

"Master Ornitier and I will escort them," she responds, voice stiff and unpleasant.

"Beatrix," Steiner says, and Amarant looks at him in surprise. He's actually going to ask? "I would like to join you."

Her frown deepens and she tells him, "No."

Amarant almost laughs at Steiner's expression, and then feels nauseous for wanting to laugh at all.

"Steiner," Garnet cuts in, not looking really at the group but more upwards, towards the sky. Amarant tries to imagine her face without tearstains but can't. "I know you want to come with us, but..."

"I understand, Your Majesty."

"We should get some sleep," Eiko tells them, and Amarant wants her to stop looking so worried over everyone. She's not old enough to worry.

Zidane's Sister speaks out from the corner of the group. "Since we have huts now... unoccupied... and since the inn is destroyed, Pitsel and I assumed it would be more comfortable for you to stay in the vacant homes during your stay. I assume this is alright?"

"That would be fine," Garnet smiles, corners of her lips a little tight. "Thank you, Mikoto..."

Zidane's Sister leads them away from the ruined inn and Amarant finds himself slinking the opposite direction. He doesn't want some fucking dead mage's house. He doesn't fucking need it.

It's already dark and the moons have only barely risen. That's how it is in the forests. He wonders if he can disappear inside this particular forest, like he could at home... or if these trees know him and don't want him.

He can't stop thinking about Zidane. Or, not Zidane. He can't stop thinking about "Zidane's Dead" and how that made Garnet break and how he didn't _mean_ to say it so loud because he knew she _would_.

He's pretty sure he hates Zidane. He knows he never liked the damned monkey like everyone else did, but now that he's free to think about it... Yeah. He hates Zidane. He hates Zidane because he was always rash and always lucky – and Amarant was always rash and never lucky. He hates Zidane because he won everyone's trust and respect – two things Amarant has never desired but has always envied. He hates Zidane because he pulled everyone along and then disappeared to who-knows-where for however long...

He hates Zidane because he let Garnet go, and then swept her back up when he got the chance and then left all over again.

Amarant decides _he_ hates Zidane because _he_ –

"Amarant, right?"

The bounty hunter turns and glares at Zidane's Sister and tries to put Zidane's name to her face.

"What do you want?"

"...My brother's mate wants to speak with you."

He hates Zidane because of _that_.

"She's not his fucking mate anymore," he snarls.

"I realize that," she responds in that flat voice. "However... old thoughts do not die as easily as the people they represent do." She turns and says, "Follow me," and for fuck if he knows what reason, he follows.

She takes him through the village and to a hut on the far edge of the walkway. There's only one candle lit in there and he can see the glow reflected off of Eiko's hair as she stands outside, waiting.

"I can take him in, Mikoto," Eiko says, smiling at the girl who looks _just like Zidane_.

"Goodnight, then," Zidane's Sister says, leaving the two alone.

Eiko lowers her voice because there's only a thin, makeshift door separating them from Garnet. "Amarant... Please don't...?"

"Don't _what_?" he asks, and he wishes he didn't sound so hostile.

"Don't... don't do anything dumb."

She leaves him with that and he wonders how she categorizes dumb as he pushes the door to the side and enters the hut.

There are two beds, both makeshift hay ones, and Garnet is sitting on the better built one, staring vaguely in the direction of the door.

"...Amarant?" she asks, and god _damn_ her voice is already starting to crack.

"...Yeah."

She's quiet and he's quiet, and then he goes and, though he feels like he shouldn't, he sits next to her on the straw.

"I... I know... I know you didn't mean to – to... and I'm sorry."

"No, you're not."

She turns her head in his direction and she looks confused and hurt and wrong, and asks, "How do you know?"

"Because if you were sorry, you wouldn't be crying."

She turns away and wipes at her eyes and Amarant almost gets up and walks out, because she just wanted to false apologize, and this is a dangerous position for him.

But then she whispers, "I don't know if we'll come back from Madain Sari," and he wouldn't leave for all the gold in Gaia.

"I wanted to... I wanted to say thank you, because... you said it," she rasps, "You said it when no one could. I don't want it to be true but... but Z-Zidane's..."

He shouldn't but he kind of takes pleasure out of saying it now, "Zidane's _dead_."

She winces and then nods. "And... I didn't want... If I could, I would-"  
"You can't so don't bother wishing."

He thinks it's when he first talked to her – actually talked to her and didn't just grunt and shrug her off – that he first realized she wasn't a princess. Well, not exactly a princess. The others treated her with a slight air of royalty and she accepted it but she didn't like it. So he made it a kind of mission – a side quest to unraveling Zidane – to push that air as far away as possible. He used "princess" like a pet name and would call her woman instead of "Dagger" or fucking "Garnet" and he refused to bend to any of her more royal orders.

Even when Zidane confronted him and told him to lay off, that he was being too mean.

Because he said it near Garnet and she turned and just _glared_ – and he was silenced and Amarant was left to be smug.

And then she started talking to him more. She asked him questions while he was up for guard duty and she wasn't asleep like the others. Stupid questions, really, meaningless – where are you really from, how old are you, what do you like to read – the normal, everyday questions people ask new acquaintances when they don't know what else to say. And even though she was just asking out of fucking curiosity, or maybe as a kind of sideways "thank you for noticing"... he kind of liked it.

And then Zidane fucking wandered off and she stopped talking to everyone but the council and Steiner. And then he came back, and boy she was happy when he treated her like a queen. And if Amarant and she ever talked, he would call her princess like a pet name and she would smile and take it but not like it.

And he fucking hates Zidane and doesn't want him back.

"I just wanted to... I just wanted to tell you that _I don't know_," Garnet finally says, and Amarant thinks that's probably the one thing she could do to make him feel so –

"...If you want, I'll go with you."

"I don't want you to," she tells him, honestly, "I don't want you to because I want you to stay here and sleep, and... and stop for a while. You... you were so angry today, you yelled at everyone, and... and I think it's because you need rest."

He wants to tell her it doesn't matter if he's tired or not, because it won't change anything if he sleeps... but she looks honestly worried and it reminds him of night talks without Zidane around.

"...I'm not angry now," he tells her honestly. He wants to add to it but he won't.

She looks around and then smiles slightly. She tells him, quietly, "I never liked it when they called me princess, but I never minded it when you did the same. And..."

She reaches out a hand and when he feels her warm finger tips against his neck he can't breathe. She feels out scars on his neck, up to his face, feels the stitches in his eye and feels the unevenness of his beard. And she says, "If things had been different..."

"They weren't, so don't bother wishing," he rasps and it feels as though he's going to pass out. The only thing on his mind now – the only thing he wants to think about – is escape and he stands, pulling out of her hands and moving towards the door.

He didn't know her arms were long enough but she grabs his hand and he wishes he could tear his hand away and walk out and leave it at that.

"If things had been different," she murmurs, "I would have..."

"You wouldn't have done fucking _anything_!" he snarls, and he can pull his hand out of her grip now, and he finishes with, "You wouldn't have done anything differently."

And he walks out even though she's blind and can't go after him.

**---------------**

"I don't have time for this, Steiner."

Beatrix's back is to him and he wishes with all his heart he had the strength to turn her around to face him. But he keeps his hand to himself and simply watches her pack food and fill canteens.

"Why won't you allow me to come with you?" he asks, trying to at least gauge the damage being done.

"We already have enough people to pack food for. Any more and the cart will not handle it. This isn't up for discussion."

"Beatrix, if this has to do with what happened on the ship-"

"What, exactly, happened on the ship?" Beatrix snaps, turning around and placing a hand on her hip, right above the hilt of her sword. "Are you referring to how you and that bounty hunter had something to hide – something that cost us a ship, the life of an Eidolon, and nearly our _own_ lives?"

"...She had said she had told Lady Eiko her suspicions," he mutters, before frowning and realizing she was wielding a double edged sword. "And what of _you_ and that great oaf Amarant? You yourself are hiding something from us all regarding him – something that Fenrir warned him of! Do not assume I am the only one hiding things!"

"What's going on with Amarant is only an immediate danger to him, not to us. You put us all in jeopardy!"

"I did _nothing_!"

"And_ that _is why_ we nearly died_!" Beatrix snarls, eyes narrowing and hand almost grabbing for her sword. "Just _stay_ out of the _way_! If you wish to do nothing then do not complain when we grant you that wish!" She turns away and continues throwing food into sacks, ignoring Steiner utterly.

After a few moments, Steiner tries one last time.

"I want to _help_, Beatrix!"

"You _can't_!" she exclaims, putting a hand to her forehead and then taking a breath. "You can't help, Steiner. You can't handle your weapon and you can't make decisions regarding confidentiality."

She turns and he hopes he doesn't look quite as devastated as he feels. He must not be doing a very good job at hiding his feelings, because her eyes go soft and she sighs. "You aren't well enough right now, Adelbert. Please... you have nightmares and you aren't physically fit for travel. And without proper training... it's hard for you to use your sword. Once this is over, everything will be fine."

He wants to explain to her that he's perfectly fine, and the travel would only help him hone his skills, and that he doesn't even remember the nightmares, but something in Beatrix's pose tells him that she's too far out of reach... anything he might say would be lost in translation.

So he nods, and says, "I understand, Beatrix," because while she might call him Adelbert it doesn't feel right for him to call her by her first name. "Everything will be fine. Take care on your journey."

He turns and leaves and doesn't expect a response.

He doesn't get one.

Other than expanding the perimeter, the Black Mage Village hasn't changed very much. All the new pathways still lead to the original ones, and all of those lead to the graveyard. Therefore, Steiner isn't incredibly distressed to find that he has unconsciously made his way there... just disappointed that he isn't alone.

Lani is sitting at the fence, back to the pathway and eyes wandering over the first row of graves.

He says, "Excuse me," before realizing she can't hear him.

Still, her head turns and she looks at him for a long moment before responding. "Hi."

He wants to be surprised at this. He really and truly wishes he could be surprised, but he had a feeling. He's sure everyone does.

"At least it's just you," she mumbles. "It might be a problem otherwise."

Steiner doesn't want to answer so he decides to forgo words – instead he comes to stand next to her, looking out over the rows out of her sight.

"When?" he finally asks.

"...After I had that hallucination," she sighs. "Guess it knocked everything alright."

"Far from a hallucination," he tells her.

Lani makes a noise and doesn't respond directly.

"Your lady being a bit chilly tonight, good sir knight?" she asks, and he knows she's asked him that same thing before.

"As shrewd as your partner in your personal inquiries, aren't you?"

She winces and looks away. "Amarant's got his own issues, you know."

"Perhaps."

"Are you going to sit down, sir knight, or are you too good to sit like the rest of us?"

There's no malice in her words and so Steiner sits, crossing his legs and examining the frayed edges of the play clothing he's been wearing for so long. Perhaps they could find something more suitable in the Village.

"Looks good, for all the crap we've gone through," Lani drawls, and he blinks his gaze away from the frays and to the bounty huntress, who's pulling a small satchel from her belt. It's about the size of a coin purse, and she opens it and pulls out a tin, like the one for the flint.

She grins sideways at Steiner and says, "That... Genome, yeah? That Genome girl, the one who keeps saying she's Zidane's sister..." She holds out the tin and opens it, showing him the galenas rolls inside. "She's not bad. This stuff grows all over the Outer Continent, it's not like home."

"And she knows your hearing's returned?"

Lani frowns and pulls out two rolls, ignoring Steiner for the moment and fumbling with the matches. She lights the two and then offers one to Steiner. The knight hesitates because Weimar and Laudo always smoked together and were never very alert during the ritual – then he remembers that neither Weimar nor Laudo are alive to serve as an example. He takes the roll and breathes deep.

"Kinda nice out here," Lani sighs after a while.

"...Better if it weren't the end of the world."

They sit in silence and Steiner follows the smoke up to the clear dark sky above.

Later, he returns to the hut to find it empty – and the fact that he's not surprised almost hurts more than the sudden abandonment.


	17. Night Terrors

For some reason, Amarant had thought that once Garnet and Beatrix were gone, he would feel much less stressed out about his current situation.

He finds it incredibly disappointing that this is not the case.

He's panicked over the thought that, at any moment, an Eidolon could come over the ridge and wipe this shitty little rundown village off the map. He's worried about Garnet, and worried about what had happened the night before, and worried about what it all _means_. But more than anything, he's pissed off because the Genomes keep staring and Steiner has been glaring from across the Village. He can feel a fight brewing between them and that only serves to drive him up the wall.

So he takes to stalking around the Village. At first, it doesn't seem like there are many places for him to go – there's the graveyard, but Zidane's Sister is there with Lani and he really fucking hates Zidane and doesn't want to deal with him. There's the forest, but there's nothing there to hunt and there's nothing there to see, with all the owls gone.

And then, there's the clock tower where the chocobo had been kept. The bird is now pulling a cart across the desert, towards Madain Sari, and the only thing in its place is a stale Burmecian guard and a few dwarves. At first, they don't serve any interest to Amarant, but he soon finds himself wondering just what the hell they think they're doing.

Eumol has forgone his normal Burmecian attire and is in a patched pair of breeches that probably belong to one of the Genomes. His fur is matted and he looks a little sick and out of sorts, but the dwarves are keeping him entertained with some goddamned drawings on planks of wood.

"What the hell are you doing?" Amarant growls, earning a jump from the Burmecian and a few surly glances from the dwarves.

"Ah, we were just..." Eumol fidgets and then says, "We're thinking of ways to build a new ship to get off the continent."

"You want to build a fucking ship this far from the sea?" the bounty hunter growls, crossing his arms and narrowing his eyes. "That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard a rat say. Are you getting a heatstroke under that fur coat of yours?"

"May be a wee bit far fer a boat, but a'least yer friend here is doin' soomthin' praductive with 'is time."

Amarant glares at the dwarf, who chuckles and adds, "Mar praductive than glarin' a mite tae much, thae is."

Eumol glances between them and Amarant decides that the Burmecian isn't doing anything wrong. He's probably the only one of their entire group who isn't. So he shakes his head and mutters, "Do whatever the hell you want," before leaving them alone.

He feels fucking tragic and it makes him want to hurt someone, so when Steiner comes into view he goes for it.

"So you couldn't bitch your way into the adventure this time, huh?"

The knight visibly stiffens, something Amarant bets he wouldn't have seen if there had been armor. But there's no armor, just cotton and a stupid sword. He can read the other plain.

"I figured you'd at least try to fuck your way in, you seemed so desperate." Amarant stalks towards the knight, who has turned to face him with a dark look. "But your little miss war hawk was at Her Majesty's hut all night."

"Are you expecting to get a rise out of me?" Steiner growls.

"Oh, fuck no. I'm just passin' time. After all, what's more fun than talking with good sir one-arm?"

Amarant doesn't acknowledge the stone in his stomach when he says this, and ignores Steiner as he puts his hand to his sword. "Are you truly this eager to fight me?" the knight asks and Amarant wants very badly to tell him he's more eager to get that sword shoved in his throat than to have an honest to god fight.

"Fuck, fight you? You can't handle your sword and you're such a helpless twit. It'd feel wrong fighting a cripple like you." He smirks and spits out, "After all, I've got the advantage here, don't I?"

The bounty hunter isn't prepared for a punch and so when Steiner socks him in the jaw it sends him reeling, falling back against the planks. Before he can even speak, Steiner has his sword against Amarant's throat, eyes narrowed and there is something definitely wrong.

"You might have both arms, but what good can that do you if you can't properly use your only eye?" the knight hisses. "I should kill you."

Amarant snarls. "You couldn't kill a man, you fucking moron. You've never even got a man's blood on your sword before."

Steiner looks mockingly aghast and snaps, "But you're hardly a man – much more a beast than anything."

Amarant _hates that so much._

He grabs the sword with his bare hands and snarls, "You would fucking think that, you fucking country bumpkin."

And he pushes the sword violently backwards, dislodging it from Steiner's grip and throwing it to the side. The knight gains his balance but Amarant's already on him, fighting nail and tooth because _fuck it_, if the fucker doesn't think he's – then he won't be, _fuck him_!

Steiner cracks one of Amarant's ribs so in return Amarant punches him in the ear, sending the other reeling slightly –

The knight grabs a few of Amarant's dreadlocks, puts a knee to his back, pinning his arms, and forces him down on the ground, pulling his head back and glaring viciously at the bounty hunter, who tries not to wince because that really does fucking hurt.

"I am sorely tempted to remove your other eye," the knight snarls.

"I fucking dare you, you piece of shit."

Steiner yanks violently on Amarant's hair and the hunter involuntarily yelps.

"What the _fuck_ are you doing?"

Amarant can't turn his head all the way but he can see Lani in his peripheral vision and immediately regrets getting into this fight.

"Get the fuck off him, knight," she snarls, coming forward. Steiner immediately removes his knee and stands at attention, letting Amarant push himself up. It feels like his hair is falling out. Fuck, that fucking knight could have –

"Red," Lani's saying, "Are you alright?"

He doesn't realize he's backhanded her until she lands on the ground, completely shell-shocked and unable to respond.

"Stay the fuck out of my business, you deaf bitch," he hisses, trying to stand but finding Steiner's hand around his neck. He can't breathe and it's one of the most refreshing feelings he's ever experienced. A long look at Steiner shows that there's not much left holding him together.

"I should _kill you_, you filthy pig."

He wants to respond but he really can't breathe, and Steiner squeezes tighter. Everything goes kind of black around the edges, and he gags.

"Stop it!" Lani shouts, "Fucking stop, you fucking lunatics!"

Amarant feels suddenly, violently sick so he puts a bit of force down and shoves himself out of Steiner's grip, rolling onto his knees and forearms and dry heaving against the planks.

"You are pathetic," Steiner growls, and then he stalks away and Amarant tries to breathe again. It doesn't feel right.

"Amarant," Lani mumbles. She puts a hand to his back and he regrets laying a fucking finger on her.

He waves a hand as he tries to stand and the other bounty hunter puts her hands against him, giving him balance. "Why?" she asks.

He shakes his head because he can't tell her through sign language. So instead they walk silently to one of the huts, the one he probably was supposed to use last night instead of sleeping outside like a bum, and she helps him sit down and feels out his cracked rib.

He looks at her and realizes she's already bruising around the bone and it makes him feel almost sick again. He _never_ does that. He _never hits Lani_, it's a fucking unspoken rule, he fights her and spars her but he doesn't hit her just because he fucking _feels like it_-

"Amarant," Lani rasps, grabbing his shoulder, "its okay."

He's not – he doesn't _just hit _Lani –

"_Salamander_," she tries again and now he hears her.

He looks at her and shakes his head and mouths "I'm sorry."

"It's okay. I get it." She steps back and says, "But stop fucking attacking the knight, would you? He's on a thin rope already and you don't want those women coming back and finding him snapped and you dead."

He almost tells her he does but knows better than that.

He waves her away after a few moments and she complies, giving him only one last look before leaving the hut.

* * *

Lani doesn't see Amarant or Steiner for the rest of the day and this kind of mellows her out. They're both on edge and completely fucked up right now, and she doesn't think hanging around them will help her mental state either way, so she stays at the graveyard and kind of lays around. It's the first time in almost a month that she's had both time to lay around and a secluded place to do so, so she takes full advantage of it.

She's on her second smoke in as many hours when her world goes black and her breath freezes in her throat. It's cold, really cold, and she jerks up into a sitting position, trying to make out something – anything – around her, before it fades away and she has nothing to tell anyone –

She drops her smoke and it lands on her thigh, burning her and knocking the black out of her eyes.

Mikoto is leaning over her, looking completely unworried.

"Did you have a vision?" she asks, sounding vaguely interested.

"Fuck," Lani growls, grabbing at her smoke and rubbing at the burn on her leg, "No, just a blackout."

"I can assure you, you were quite awake." The Genome sits down across from Lani. "You were yelling. What did you see?"

Lani doesn't remember yelling. She takes a drag and shrugs. "Nothing."

Mikoto looks at her for a long while and after the huntress puts the smoke out she says, "These visions you have... Your companions spoke of them, briefly. Do they always come true?"

Lani frowns. "I don't have visions."

The blonde shakes her head and says, "I have them when I'm asleep. But you... You have visions even when you're awake. They mean something, don't they?"

"I don't have _visions_, you brat," she growls in response, "I just hallucinate things. It's a coincidence."

"Each thing you've seen has come true, hasn't it?" the Genome asks.

"I don't _see anything_!" she snarls. "I don't fucking want to see anything!"

Mikoto frowns. "Do you think that, if you don't acknowledge these visions, they'll stop?"

Lani shakes her head and looks away. "If I don't acknowledge them, they're not my problem," she mutters, before looking back to Mikoto and exclaiming, "I didn't _ask_ to do this, you know! I didn't ask to be the resident mystic! I don't want to deal with this shit!"

"Lani," Mikoto drawls in that kind of flat voice, "I don't think you have a choice in the matter."

The bounty huntress wants to explain to the Genome that she has every choice in the matter – all she has to do is ignore them, and they'll go away. But then Carbuncle dances across her vision and then Leviathan and –

"I... shit," she mumbles awkwardly, putting out her smoke and standing, "I need to go talk to the knight."

Mikoto raises an eyebrow and then nods. "Do what you think is right," she says, turning her head to look at the graves as Lani slinks off into the quickly settling dark.

The hut is dark and Lani is almost deterred from knocking, but can't help it. She's told the knight everything she's seen so far, and doesn't see any reason in stopping.

So when he answers the door and sees her standing there, he already knows what she's there for and is already letting her in. But before she can tell him anything, he is sitting and looking at her in a dull, unbecoming way.

"Why do you constantly come to me?" he asks quietly.

Lani shrugs. "You started it."

She looks around and notes that the place has only one bed, unlike the hut she has, and it's a nicer one. That kind of annoys her, but she shoves the thought to the side.

"I saw the black again," she tells him. "It was freezing."

Steiner frowns and looks out the window. "The same as in Lindblum?" he asks, "With feathers?"

"...No feathers this time. I think they might've been there but... I don't remember them."

"Simply a blackout," he mumbles, "That's what you get for constantly smoking."

Lani looks at the knight and wonders if he's just saying that – or if he really, honestly believes it. If _he_ believes it, she could too. He's pretty good at convincing people he's ignorant to facts, after all.

She crosses her arms because it's getting kind of cold, and Steiner is sitting on the edge of the gloom in the hut.

"...If you..." She shifts, looks at him, and then continues, "If you tell me you think it's just a blackout – that these are just hallucinations – I'll believe you and... stop thinking about them."

The knight sighs. "My opinion should hardly be of consequence to you."

"Quit talking like a goddamned knight, would you?" she growls in response, "No one gives a shit how you talk anymore."

"Maybe I'm just refined."

"You were talking about gutting Amarant like a _pig_, o' refined sir knight. I doubt you really care."

The man scowls and responds in a sharp, clipped voice, "He not only attacked me but you as well, and you expect me to speak to him as I do anyone else?"

"Did you ever consider that maybe, just _maybe_..." Lani looks around the room and shakes her head, "He's scared out of his wits right now? Just like everyone else?"

It doesn't really surprise her that Steiner looks nearly confused at this idea – after all, people don't always think of Amarant like another person – but it does kind of piss her off. She hates that people can't – _don't_ – think of him in their terms.

"What does he have to be afraid of?" the knight asks, almost weakly.

Lani doesn't know, honestly. Amarant's not her forte. She knows him but doesn't know his mind – and that worries her.

"Death?" she tries, "Being helpless? The same things we're all feeling, I guess." She shrugs and turns to the door. "I should probably go."

"...It was just a blackout," Steiner says into the darkness, and something about his saying that pulls at her violently.

"...I...Yeah, I guess it was. Nightmares, I guess," she mumbles, moving the door and stepping into the dead light, "Just nightmares."

* * *

One thing has been bugging Amarant throughout the past two days, and by nightfall he's using it as an excuse not to think about more pressing issues – like why he keeps imagining Steiner's blade through his throat, or why he keeps getting a bad feeling when he thinks about Garnet.

So he decides to settle it once and for all, and stalks through the dark, listening to muted conversations between dwarves and genomes alike. They're all talking about the same thing: what's going to happen next?

He knows exactly what's going to happen next, just as well as they do. The difference is that he would say it aloud if asked.

He finds the object of his thoughts sitting next to the creek by the mill, vacantly staring into the water and not listening to the frogs or the crickets. He thinks vaguely of the androgynous Quina before thinking about how he knows more dead people than living ones now.

It only takes a second before he makes up his mind and sits next to Lani on the embankment, makeshift claws drooping and his eyes only casually glancing at her. She looks vaguely confused but still at ease and turns her head to look at the candlelight coming from the village.

"I'll give you to the count of three, and then I'm going to stab you in the chest," he drawls easily, head turned the opposite direction of hers. He takes a breath, and then counts, slow and deliberate. "One. Two. Three."

He twists his upper body and looks at Lani for a moment, with her arms raised over her chest and eyes narrowed sharply.

"That was fucking rude," she growls.

"The fuck didn't you tell me?" he snaps, grabbing her arm roughly, "Why the _fuck_ didn't you say anything to me?" A shake, and then, "We wouldn't be here right now, we could have stayed _home_ for the love of-"

"No we couldn't have, Red, and you know it." She looks away and she can read him too well. "Besides, I didn't get it back until after we were on the ship. So we were fucked either way."

"Why the fuck didn't you say anything, then?"

She shrugs. "I don't know. Just didn't feel like it."

It's a lie, but he decides that for the sake of everyone, he's just going to fucking buy it for now. He doesn't care enough. Or, he cares too much.

"What now?" she asks him, after he lets go of her and stands up.

Hundreds of things run through Amarant's head, but he gives up and says, simply, "I don't know."

And then he walks away.


	18. Break

Mikoto wanders the village and wonders if, maybe, there is something wrong with her.

She just doesn't find the current situation as threatening as the others do. She, unlike the other Genomes, isn't picking up the fear emanating from the dwarves or her brother's comrades.

While they're all afraid, she is simply waiting for things to return to normal, as they are sure to do eventually.

She takes her normal walk, partly out of habit and partly to stay away from the others, so as not to ostracize herself. No one is at the graveyard, for the first time in a long while, but she feels slightly apprehensive at being there – as if someone is there and is watching her, waiting in the shadows. So she turns and takes the path through the village again, this time following the outer rim. She can hear the others talking of the future, in tones that prove their unawareness at what the future really _is_.

Mikoto crosses the bridge to the mill and finds a bustle of activity there – dwarves are marching about, cutting down nearby trees and carrying the lumber away down the slope. She almost wants to know what they're doing.

"I hope you don't mind," a soft voice raises from behind her, "But we need the lumber..."

She turns to see the rat-man who is traveling with her brother's friends. He looks sick and weak and sweaty, and her mind recalls his name as Eumol.

"It is alright, I suppose," she responds dully. "I do not think I have any say in the matter, either way."

"You're... Mikoto, right?" he asks, cocking his head to the side.

She nods, too easily distracted by the building going on around her. "What is going on?"

"We're building a ship. Hopefully... Hopefully we'll have it done in time..."

Mikoto remembers the last rat-person she had met, and doesn't see her at all in this boy. She looks up at the sky, more visible now that trees are out of the way.

"Will you be leaving soon?"

"The ship will take a while... but we need to keep going. One way or another, we have to keep moving."

She nods again and looks to him, raising an eyebrow. "You look sick."

Eumol laughs in embarrassment, and says, "Burmecians aren't very good in heat, I guess... I'm not used to it yet, is all."

"I doubt you ever get used to it," she mumbles, wrapping her tail around her waist. "Pitsel will be back soon."

He scratches the back of his head and nods. "Probably. I just hope they get back before things fall apart here..."

Mikoto almost asks what he means... but then she thinks and realizes she knows exactly what he's talking about.

* * *

Amarant puts a palm to his forehead and takes his own temperature.

He feels lightheaded and dizzy, as if he's had too much to drink, without the nausea that generally follows. He can hear the dwarves working on the other side of the village, and he covers his face with his hands, thumb checking his pulse against his neck and finding it erratic.

He can almost tell that he's about to have another one, but he doesn't know how heavy it will be, who it will take with him...

He hears footsteps and looks through the shadows to see Zidane's Sister standing in the graveyard, looking over the headstones with that goddamned blank expression she's always had.

When she turns and leaves, gravity weighs in its opinion and he breathes in, waiting for his stomach to sink.

* * *

Lani watches the afternoon sky with something almost close to apprehension.

Since her declaration last night that her hallucination had been just that, she's had a slimy, almost foul feeling on her skin. A bath in the stream didn't help – if anything, it made her feel dirtier.

She hates imagining dead bodies floating in the water.

She keeps seeing the black _something_ in the corner of her eyes – as if it's lurking just outside her line of sight, watching her and waiting for something. She doesn't think the "something" will be very good, whatever it is.

She's out of galenas and Mikoto's nowhere in sight, so she suffers in sobriety until the next opportunity presents itself. She's not sure when it will be, but she's okay with that, for now.

They've been here for a few days now, and it annoys her. She doesn't want to be here; she wants to be _home_... Even though there's no home now.

She's sure the bounties are all out and about... easy pickings.

Even though there isn't anyone to take them in to.

It weighs heavily on her heart and she sits on the grass near the treeline, looking at the treetops and wondering at how _old_ these trees must be. They've probably seen this kind of shit before... and they'll probably see it again.

Meanwhile, they're running around like damned cockroaches.

She hates bugs.

There are heavy footsteps and she looks up to see Steiner standing some few feet away, looking at the sky and not really paying her much attention. He's lost in thought and she wonders if she should leave him in his own mind, or bring him into hers. She's not sure which one's more frightening.

"What is it that draws you to the trees?" he asks suddenly, eyes dropping to her face.

She can't stand it and looks away. "I don't know. They're nice, I guess. Older, or something."

Dirt crunches and she looks up to see Steiner almost casually leaning against one of the trees, fixing her still with that damned stare of his.

"Is there something you want, sir knight?"

He rolls his shoulder and says, "Forgive me if I am interrupting you. I was only wondering..."

"Wondering what, exactly?" she asks, frowning. She doesn't think it's a good idea to wonder about anything nowadays. It's just trouble.

"...What will happen, once her majesty returns?" he asks, looking up to the branches above, "What will happen when she realizes..."

He doesn't continue, so she does it for him.

"When she realizes we're all going to die anyways?"

He jerks, looks at her with wide eyes, and she realizes that he never imagined the thought would be voiced any time soon.

She sighs and says, "We're going to do whatever she says, aren't we? So quit worrying. Whatever happens, happens."

"Is that bounty hunter rhetoric?" he asks, meaning no harm.

"It's just the way life is, sir knight. Is constant worrying a knight's trait?"

He looks away and smirks, a little – kind of like a smile but too sad to be one. "It is a coward's," he says quietly, and then he walks away, arms behind his back and looking like a man heading for the gallows.

She watches him go and wonders where this is leading her.

* * *

He wishes Lani were here.

Desperately wishes.

With gasping breath he raises himself out of his own little hole and tries to make it onto his legs, even though it's impossible. His head is throbbing and he can feel every bone in his body, as though they were made of rubber and impossible to keep straight.

He crawls to the third grave of the sixth row before he collapses, eyes rolling and throat half clogged with blood. _This is as good a spot as any,_ his mind giggles, _sleeping on a grave is a new low after all, how much lower can you get when you use bone for pillow?_

He agrees internally but externally he's still trying to move.

_If I had done anything differently_, he thinks blindly, trying to get his arms to stand straight, _I would have stayed in my hole like a lizard should_.

He wishes Lani were here.

_Angel come forth,_ he sighs mentally, _Cut me loose from my wicked deeds._

Something moves at the corner of his eyes and he tries to focus, but it's too damned hard.

"You have done many things wrong," the Old Man says from a distance, "And it will be the death of you."

He tries to say something in response, but his mind giggles instead and so he almost laughs himself.

"I asked you to go to my master in order to help her, and as of yet you have not done a single thing to prove your worth. Tell me, lizard..."

Gold light, and the Old Man is in his reddened vision.

"...Should I save you now, or allow your foolish magic to destroy you?"

Amarant gags on blood that disappears in a white hot burst – his head feels like fire and he grabs for it, bones stiffening to steel before returning to their normal state.

"You have had all the luck in the world," Old Man Lightning says, "And so I will grant you this one reprieve. Do this for me, lizard..."

His vision clears and he pushes himself onto hands and knees as the Eidolon says, "Stand by their side until the End. You may yet serve a purpose."

"Fuck you," he growls as the Eidolon dissipates.

* * *

The night is alive with noise. The dwarves don't sleep, and so they continue building the ship that will hopefully get them through their journey.

Lani had fallen asleep to them and had paid no attention to Amarant's brief knock.

Hours later, she wakes up on a hunch.

The slimyskin feeling increases as she sits up in the dark hut, eyes wandering over the empty shadows and seeing shapes staring back. It's her feet that lead her tonight, and she lets them take her out of bed and into the late night-early morning darkness. The dwarves are still working – she can hear them from a distance – and she wonders if, maybe, they _will_ get the ship done in time.

She wanders the village for a while, letting her feet guide her. And guide her they do – they take her to the lonely graveyard and around the ruined treeline until she approaches a lone hut on the outskirts of the village.

The slimy feeling flees and the hut is suddenly in flames. She shouts and runs forward, drawing back from the heat and staring as two giant black wings fan out behind the building. They blot out the sky and smother the fire, smother the stars, smother her breathing.

"It's not a hallucination," she rasps weakly, defeated, "I'm not hallucinating."

As if she's spoken magic words, the flames disappear and the wings pull back, dissolving and leaving the hut alone and ramshackle.

It hits her suddenly, with a brute force that knocks her around mentally.

_The wings mean death._

She runs to the hut and slips through the door.

Steiner is tangled up in his sheets, fighting in his sleep for freedom. She comes up through the dark and puts a hand on his shoulder, partially stilling the knight.

"Steiner," she whispers, "Steiner."

It takes a few gentle shakes before he jerks upright, sweat glowing in the dim moonlight. She's never seen him like this – she doubts _anyone_ has.

He has crisscross scars across his shoulders and chest – some old and faded, others still red and fresh.

He looks at her blankly for a moment and then asks, "What are you doing here?"

"The wings mean death," she whispers, unable to force her voice louder, "And I saw them over here." _I was worried_ is the unspoken thought underneath the otherwise bland statements.

The knight stares for a while and then looks at his hand, now in his lap. "I imagine you've decided they're not illusions after all?"

"I can't pretend they are." She doesn't tell him about the slimyskin feeling or the dark shadows that had danced outside her vision before her revelation, but she thinks he might understand.

She still has a hand on his shoulder, so she asks, "Nightmares?"

He chuckles humorlessly and doesn't respond.

"Sorry," she says quietly, removing her hand and standing at full height.

"It's strange," he mutters suddenly, "For someone such as yourself to have a motherly streak as you do."

"I can't _help_ it," she snaps, feeling suddenly very self-conscious – something she hasn't felt since she was a _kid_. It irritates her.

"Forgive me," he hastily amends, turning to look at her fully, "I didn't mean it as an insult." He tries a smile – a small, apologetic one – and it fits him completely. "It helps."

She's not sure why but that smile entices her to stay. So she asks with a hint of awkwardness, "Where does a knight get so many scars?"

His smile widens for a split-second, and he responds, "You often acquire scars when you travel the world unaware of the dangers it holds."

It's a bit more cryptic than she had expected from him, but it still tells her just what she wanted to know. She examines the scars with her eyes, partly because she wants to know what kinds of weapons made them, and partly because she wants to see if he has more than Amarant does.

It surprises her when he says in a weak voice, "You are the only person to ask such a question of me."

She debates asking about his wife's opinion on them, but when she looks up from his chest and at his face, she _can't_. It's as if the thought flies out of her head and into the dark, lurking in the corners but leaving them alone.

Her chest constricts in a funny little way, something she hasn't felt since she was really young.

"It means something," he mumbles haphazardly, face getting a little red, "It just means something."

Something cracks – something needs to, really; they've come so far that the usual can't hold anymore. Too many bland conversations, too many doubts in their heads – it's just like every single day has been building up to this one moment, where she _has_ to put a hand on the skin between shoulder and neck, where the have _no say_ in what happens anymore.

She's only marginally surprised when he does all the leaning in, but she goes with it anyways and meets him three-fourths the way in. It's not quite clear how she's suddenly straddling him on top of sheets or how his hand got to pulling her down further, but she's really not complaining, after all; he needs her and she needs _this_. His hand's in her hair and she shifts her own hands down, forcing the sheets between them over his knees, hands moving back to his shoulders and only stopping long enough to undo cloth knots around her waist. He groans when she pulls her mouth away, just for a moment, but he doesn't say anything (thankfully; she doesn't know if either of them could continue if one of them spoke), so she breathes in and out and then leans back down, shifting her weight just so and –

He breathes out through his nose, hard, and she bites is lip to keep from biting her own. He can't quite give her proper stability but that's okay, she shifts again and presses down on him, lying chest to chest and letting go of his mouth to give him air. His hand pushes against the small of her back, monitoring the rhythm –

She bites against his collarbone. His hand moves along her back and around to her shoulder, to her cheek and he's just so goddamned _nice_ about it all, brushing hair back from sweaty skin before moving back to her back, like that's his _place_.

She gasps, rolls her shoulders, holds her breath and closes her eyes tight...

* * *

The sun rises in a red-pink-orange sky, a sunset in reverse. 


	19. Anachronistic

When Beatrix, Garnet, Eiko, and Pitsel return it is a bittersweet reunion. Mostly, they stay to themselves, figuring out last minute censors and making sure what, exactly, they're going to tell everyone.

It's cynical, yeah, but Amarant doesn't feel particularly cheerful. Not with Garnet seeming to have aged a year in only a few days; not with Eiko slinking around like a kicked dog; and definitely not with Beatrix being there – if only because he just doesn't like her.

They ask people to gather and at first, the armorless knight doesn't look at his wife fully. When he does, however, it's worth it. She looks briefly shocked by the intensity of his gaze, but shrugs it off easily enough. Amarant kind of loathes her.

"Your Majesty," Eumol says, coming forward and looking at the three women in front of the group, "I... I didn't know what to do, so... The dwarves and I have been constructing a ship. It will... probably hold us all. If you can give me just two more days, we can have it finished..."

"Thank you, Eumol," Garnet whispers, "That would be very useful." She looks at the sky without seeing it. "We... Is everyone here?"

"Yes, your Majesty," Beatrix responds.

"We... We went to Madain Sari," she begins hesitantly, "And... though we had some difficulty contacting... we were able to find out the next step in our journey."

"And that would be...?" Amarant asks, feeling his own hostility and hating it.

She winces, more at what she has to say than what he already has. "We must travel to the Daguerreo, before the end of the month arrives."

Lani looks at the group and then quietly says, "And if we don't?"

Garnet blinks and Beatrix stares. Eiko simply smiles wearily.

"You... you have regained your hearing?" the Queen asks.

"Yeah. Um, just a day or so after you left." The bounty huntress lies through her teeth and no one looks to correct her. "What happens if we don't get there in time?"

Garnet and Eiko share a look.

"...I see."

"No you don't," Eiko sighs, looking to the group. She glances at Eumol. "Could you guys get that ship done as soon as possible?"

"It's hardly a ship, now that I think of it... but yes, we should be able to have it finished very quickly. As I said, two days might be enough."

"We need it sooner than that," Garnet rasps, eyes widening, "We need to get to Daguerreo in eight days!"

"You mind telling us what will happen if we _don't_?" Amarant growls, "Worried glances between little girls hardly help me."

"Rest assured," Beatrix hisses, "It will be far more severe than worried glances. I suggest you keep your mind on more pressing issues."

"My own wellbeing _is_ a pressing issue."

"Amarant," Garnet says, quietly, "I wish to speak with you, for a moment."

His gut churns, but he can't help saying, "Alright, princess," taking her by the hand and quietly leading her a fair distance away, hiding them in the shadows of old trees. "So, talk."

"I..." She looks so unsure of herself and for some reason that makes Amarant hurt in ways he didn't know he could. "I know that, before I left, I might have caused you worry. I wanted to tell you that..."

"If you're offering reassurance that everything's alright, I don't want to hear it," he snaps.

She blinks, and her eyes water a little. "I... No. I wanted... I wanted to tell you that nothing is ever going to be alright!" She lets out an involuntary sob and puts her hands to her face. "Ever again!"

Every time she gets upset, he feels as though someone were stabbing him. He puts an awkwardly large hand against her shoulder, and in return receives the Queen clinging to his shirt, gripping it tightly, as if she'll never let go. "We – we went and it was all _gone_ Amarant! And – and I couldn't feel anything but this... this _anger_ and then Ramuh appeared and he said that... that they had discussed what we were doing, and th-that he only knew we h-had to go to Daguerreo and wouldn't say _why_!"

She sobs into his shirt and he doesn't know what to do. He settles for putting an arm around her shoulders, looking down at her and wishing he could get his hands on that sonofabitch Old Man Thunder. What kind of game did the Eidolon think he was playing with them? They're mortals, not superhuman machines bent on doing only the will of some ancient deities! He feels a surging anger at the entire world outside of himself and his blind Queen, who never did _a damned thing wrong_!

_Give me all you want,_ he silently shouts to the sky, _Knock me down, rip me up with the forces of nature, but you're going to have hell to pay for what you're doing to everyone else!_

"I don't want to do this anymore," Garnet quietly wails, shaking her head against his chest, "I don't want to do this, Amarant, can't we go home?"

**_Say no,_** a deep and ancient voice calls out from inside the bounty hunter. **_Do what you will with me when we meet again, but do not let her end this quest now! All hope will be lost if you do!_**

"Garnet," he rasps, wishing for all the world that he could simply fight for her but knowing he can't, "Garnet, we can't stop now."

"Amarant!" she cries, "I don't want to-"

_I don't want to either, don't you **get it**-_

"I don't want to _die_!"

There's a stillness in the air after her shaking voice, and he stares down at the top of her head in a panic.

_She's going to die if we continue?_ he asks the Eidolons frantically, _She's going to **die**?_

**_No_,** the voice says quietly, and doesn't speak again. At first, Amarant can't believe either of the people he's heard in the last few moments, but then he realizes – even if he's loathe to admit it – that the old man Eidolon loves Garnet and won't let anything happen to her.

"You won't die," he mumbles weakly, smoothing back her hair idly, "You're not going to die."

She moans in fear and whispers, "Amarant, _please_..."

"Don't you dare ask me for favors," he snaps, taking his hands away suddenly. He can't do this. "Don't you _dare_ ask me for favors I can't fulfill!"

She keeps her fists in his shirt and looks blindly up, almost as if she could see him. "I'm so sorry," she cries, "I didn't mean to get... I didn't want this to happen, I didn't want you to be involved, but I didn't think that it would get so _horrible_..."

The others are going to start wondering.

"It..." He watches her let go and fall into a kneeling position at his feet, and can hardly breathe. He follows her moves and kneels down as well, running a hand through her hair and bringing her blind eyes up to his face. "It's alright. It'll be fine. Let's just go, do what the old man told us to, and get this the hell over with."

"I... I don't know if I _can_," she rasps.

"You can. You're saner than I am at the moment, princess, and therefore you're the best to lead us."

He feels something weighted in his stomach and thinks briefly that he might have another attack soon – but then realizes that it's just fear.

Something about the foreign emotion worries him.

"That General of yours is going to start wondering what's going on. Stand up, Garnet." She doesn't obey him so he sighs, holding her shoulders and bringing her to her feet as he gets to his.

She sighs a little and closes her eyes, wiping futilely at her eyes. He crosses thumbs over cheekbones and says, once he's sure that there's no one to hear, "I am going to protect you, your Majesty, and not just because you're my queen. Remember that."

At her nod, he takes her hand and leads her back to the group. They stare and she squeezes his hand gently, asking for him to take initiative.

"Hurry up and finish that paddle boat of yours," he snaps to Eumol, who hesitates before nodding, "We have to get it to the water, too, so factor that in. Six days for travel over water gives you two days exactly."

"Maybe," the Burmecian says slowly, looking thoughtful, "Maybe we should consider taking the partially built frame to the water _now_, when it's relatively lighter, and finish it there?"

"That's a good idea," Amarant responds, earning a surprised look from Lani, who he's sure has never heard him compliment someone else, ever. He looks away and to Beatrix, who is not glaring as he had expected.

Instead, she's almost smiling.

* * *

She never thought she'd have to deal with a rocking boat again.

Lani sits on the deck of their new ship and looks out over the glowing sea. Though the dwarves had been hesitant at letting the ship sail under its current conditions, they had all decided that it was now or never. They've been at sea for three days now, and she thinks that's two days too many that she's had to share the cargo hold with these intrepid adventurers.

Not that it matters. At least she won't be left alone to contemplate drowning.

The moons are high and she wonders what Daguerreo has in store for them. How decimated will it be? Will there even be people there, or are they going to have to finally face that dreaded sea serpent she's seen in her dreams more often than not?

The deck creaks and she looks over her shoulder to see Steiner skulking. He's _always_ skulking, nowadays, like he doesn't want to get too close. Like she might burn.

"Afraid of drowning, good sir knight?" she asks, leaning back on her palms and feeling rough wood cut against calloused skin. Leather boots approach and she's surprised that Steiner's actually sitting down beside her when, for the past few days, he's been unable to look at her at all.

"I am steadily losing my fear of the water." She looks to him and he smirks in a sad attempt to joke, "Instead, I seem to be more afraid of snakes, lately."

"I haven't felt anything," she tells him immediately, looking at the water ahead of them, "Nothing."

He is silent for a minute, and then he rasps, "Are we speaking of Leviathan, or...?"

He can't even say it, and that almost hurts Lani. Still, she can't play around this any longer. "Both, maybe. I don't know anymore. You haven't been spending much time with your Lady of War, lately."

"I haven't found a reason to."

"_You_ haven't, or _she_ hasn't?"

He almost looks like he's glaring but she knows better. Instead, she looks at the moons and their reflections and thinks about caves. Would they be safe in one? Could they live their lives in a little commune and just –

"Lani."

She moves thoughts away and looks to Steiner in confusion, because he hasn't called her by her own name... ever? Has it been that long already?

In the dark, he puts his hand over hers, and that constricted feeling returns full force. "You are beautiful," he sighs, almost in defeat, "And I know my reasons. What I cannot fathom are _yours_."

If she could, she would explain to him exactly why she had slept with him, why she had stayed until sunrise, but all of her powers of deduction have left her and even after thinking about it for days she still can't figure it out herself. "I can't tell you," she says quietly, "Because I don't know either." She can't leave it there – it isn't right – so she adds, "I just... needed to."

He nods like he understands, but she knows he doesn't. He can't. He's got a wife – _a **wife**, Lani_ – and he wants kids and he wants a normal life with nobility and honor and all the shit she can hardly even stand. He can't possibly understand what it's like to just _need_ the contact, to just _need_ to be desired, because he doesn't have to feel it ever.

It's a bald-faced lie but she can't bring herself to acknowledge that fact.

"You shouldn't be here," she says finally, looking at him briefly before returning her gaze to the ocean, "You should be with your _wife_." She adds, almost jokingly, "Have you no shame?"

His hand tightens around her and she's forced to look at him. He gazes back with dull, tired, melancholy eyes and rasps, "It's... strange. When I look at you, I feel as though... as though I cannot breathe." He frowns deeply, "But I have no shame. I regret nothing."

The words strike Lani as frightening and she doesn't know what he wants from her; she's not even sure she'd be able to give it to him. She doesn't want anything, she thinks desperately, she doesn't want anything but to live through this horrible journey.

"You should be asleep," she mumbles hoarsely, losing her voice and gaining that little girl feeling she hates. "You shouldn't be up here."

"I don't have a choice," he says quietly, "I can't help but think of drowning below deck."

Now she finds herself laughing a little, almost desperate for the change in mood, "You too, huh? I thought you were-"

When he kisses her, it's not unexpected and she lets the mood stay for a while.

* * *

Amarant stays below deck even after Steiner leaves and stares into the darkness across the hull. He knows that they're making good time – he can feel something warm nearby and finds it to be Eiko, whose horn is faintly glowing. He has a feeling she's using her magic to fill the sails with wind, and if she were awake he would thank her as best he could.

Beatrix is in the corner farthest away from all of them – even the Queen, which surprises the bounty hunter. Her _duty_ is to protect Garnet, isn't it? Why isn't she...?

Whatever, it doesn't matter. He does the job just as well.

The blind Queen moans in her sleep a little, tossing her head to the side. She's having a nightmare – or maybe she's talking with the Eidolons, who knows? He reaches over with a large hand and brushes her bangs away from her face, looking at sweat and skin and wishing she weren't feeling so horrible right now... Wishing that he could just tell Old Man Lightning to fuck off and leave her alone. He knows he can't, but imagining it brings him a little comfort.

It's a long time later when Steiner comes back down, and Lani doesn't even show her face until dawn. Amarant pays them little attention, focusing instead on the blind Queen he's come to protect.

* * *

The tall, sheer cliffs of the Forgotten Continent bother Eumol to no end. He hasn't been this far from Burmecia in his entire life and now that he thinks about it, he's not sure many have. He knows that a few Cleyrians had passed through Daguerreo after the first destruction of Cleyra, as did a few Burmecians, but...

No matter. Eumol shakes the useless thoughts from his head and sticks to the more useful thoughts, like how to dock on the almost nonexistent shore. He knows that they need this boat – if they hadn't, he would have just crashed right into the damned rocks and let them all _swim_ to safety. He wishes they had thought to make an anchor for the ship, but he hadn't had a clue that the Forgotten Continent was so unwelcoming.

"What is the matter?"

Eumol starts at the sound of Beatrix's voice and holds back a shudder. Even after _years_ of peace, he still remembers the General's attack on Burmecia... Sometimes she still gives him the shivers.

"I'm having difficulty figuring out how to dock, ma'am," he replies, tail thrashing a little in annoyance. "No one informed me that the Forgotten Continent was so mountainous."

"Forgive me," Beatrix sighs, "I forgot to mention anything." She sounds tired.

"If we have enough rope," the Burmecian says quietly, "Perhaps we can tie the ship down between those two rocks." He points to the two least foreboding pieces of stone jutting up out of the water.

A hand touches his shoulder and he jumps. "It sounds like the best plan we can have at the moment, Eumol. I have the utmost faith in you. Shall I gather up Steiner and Amarant to assist us?"

He turns and looks at her for the first time in seven days and sees that she looks exhausted, weak, and unhealthy.

"Yes," he mutters, adjusting the wheel, "We better get help."

* * *

Amarant doesn't know what to expect, and as a result, he holds on to Garnet's hand as tightly as possible. This is _stupid_ – she's blind, they're leading her up a thin trail that has almost ninety-degree angles, and for what? To get to a city that's no doubt destroyed? To get to a city they'll have to _save_ from destruction? He doesn't understand.

"It's alright, Amarant," Garnet mumbles quietly, "We're going to be fine." She's saying it more to herself than to him and so he doesn't respond. He just focuses on Beatrix's form high above him and hopes that he can drag their blind Queen through this safely.

It takes them almost an hour to climb the slope because of Garnet and Steiner, but they make it to the top and are rewarded with a green field marked with craters and a clean, clear waterfall falling into a disgusting, dirtied lake. Amarant feels almost sick at the sight because no doubt there's nothing left, not in the place that worshipped the Water Dragon so openly –

They follow the dented path behind the waterfall and the doors are bent, but standing.

"Are we too late for your predictions?" Eumol asks from behind, worriedly. Amarant tenses and Beatrix starts to answer.

The doors, scratched as they are, creak and open inward, allowing the group their first view of a city not harmed by the outside world.

Several scholars are standing at the doors, but Amarant can't look away from the intact railings, the polished stone floors, the animated, healthy and _alive_ people – this isn't right, it _can't be right_ –

"Welcome to Daguerreo," one scholar says, "You will be safe here."

Amarant almost laughs aloud but his head hurts too much, so he opts for the safer, easier path.

He passes out.

* * *

Eiko can tell that Beatrix doesn't like her, but that's okay.

It all started in Madain Sari, when the Eidolons could only talk to the young girl and not to the others, because... well, because she is a _proper_ lady. The properest, at least. The Eidolons just _can't_ talk to Beatrix, because she isn't connected to them, and Garnet is on a holy quest that cannot be interfered with directly.

The little girl shifts in her seat and decides that Beatrix should be glad that they're choosing to _use_ the loophole Eiko presented. She sacrificed an awful lot for this, but she hasn't even gotten a "thank you" yet.

_Oh well_.

"Big brother," Eiko sighs, crossing her arms over the bedspread and laying her head on top of them, staring at the unconscious Amarant, "Why did you have to go and faint like that? You're going to miss the most important part..."

She knows exactly what's going to happen here, and it's like watching someone reading a book she's already read. Waiting and watching for their reactions at a dramatic scene is the best part of watching other people, after all.

She can hear the tavern alive with people and she smiles. At least here, they won't have to worry about taking shifts and watching for danger; the magic protecting Daguerreo is old and powerful – powerful enough to deter all Eidolons from attacking.

She knows that when Amarant wakes up, he's going to want a drink, so she scoots her chair back and laves the room, heading down the hall of the inn to the bar. She's not surprised to see none of the other group here. They're like wounded animals who want to be left alone to care for themselves, and merriment is probably not the best thing for them at the moment.

Still, there's Eumol, sitting with a pint of something and staring at a book in idle interest. She hop-skips to the table and pulls the chair across from him back, earning a glance.

"Can you buy me a drink?" she asks easily, "Amarant will probably want one when he wakes up."

"Of course," he responds, just as easily, and Eiko wonders how old he is. Eighteen, nineteen? Definitely no older than twenty. She should've asked Puck.

_Oh, Puck... I hope you'll be all right_.

"What are you reading?" she asks.

"This is the most recent atlas that the library has. I'm hoping that we won't have a repeat of today's docking experience, and by studying this I might be able to prevent that."

A bargirl comes over and Eumol orders a bottle of whiskey, nodding discreetly towards the rooms and handing the girl some extra gil. She giggles behind her hand and nods, flouncing away.

"She'll have the bottle delivered to his room promptly," the Burmecian sighs, losing that easy look that he had taken up so quickly. "Lady Eiko, how much longer are we going to pretend that the end is only a day away?"

Eiko smiles.

"Don't worry, Eumol," she tells him, getting up and curtsying, "After tonight, the journey will almost seem worth it."

She leaves the Burmecian to his maps and drinks and hopes that Amarant will wake up soon.

* * *

Lani grumbles as she paces away from Amarant's room. What a stupid lug – first he passes out and _then_ he has the nerve to tell her to get lost after he comes to? Who the hell does he think he is?

"I guess it makes sense," she sighs, crossing her arms and looking around at the various shops, "He's got his drink to relax him for now."

She's never been to Daguerreo and she wonders why that is. This place is pretty damned nice – and she's comparing it to the way things _used_ to be, instead of the way things are _now_. She doesn't want to think about now, anyways. The scholars that had greeted them had asked about the state of affairs around their parts and they had told them just how bad it was.

One of the scholars had frowned and looked towards the inn. "No wonder your companion has collapsed," he had sighed, "Too much destruction can have a horrid effect on the soul."

What would that old man know, anyways?

She passes the blacksmith and feels a sudden pull. She stops with a jerk and spins on her heel, practically dashing to the shop and looking about in confusion. It wouldn't make sense at all, but...

"My _axe_!" she exclaims.

The blacksmith looks up at her briefly and then frowns, looking to the jeweled axe. He moves away from the sharpening stones and comes forward, heaving the heavy weapon in his arms.

"This is yours?" he asks in surprise, holding it out to the woman. She's so _small_ compared to this huge thing – she must just think it pretty, and him a fool...

She easily takes hold of the axe and hefts it on her shoulder. "Where the hell did _you_ find it? I lost it in Treno!"

He gapes.

"How much do you want for it?" Lani frowns, checking to see that no one is close before twirling her weapon a little, feeling its weight like an old friend.

"Lady," the blacksmith responds with his mouth open, "That's your axe, and I ain't gonna charge you for what a thief tried to pawn off on me."

"A thief?" she asks.

He smirks. "Scrawny little guy – no idea how he got here from Treno... Red hair, four arms... Not familiar? Oh well. He tried to pass it off as a weapon he outgrew but we could tell it wasn't his. He wasn't holdin' it like you are. So we confiscated it and kicked him out." A small growl escapes his throat. "We don't like thieves in our city, and I ain't gonna con you out of a few gil for something that I didn't pay for in the first place."

"You're a fool," Lani snaps idly, not really meaning it.

"Maybe," he responds, "But I'd hate to be a thief."

* * *

The green field is full of holes, pockmarked and horrible terrain that his boots can't quite catch on. He can feel It looming behind him and feels for the first time in a long time cold, honest terror in his stomach.

Wind picks up around him and trees are uprooted – he stumbles and lands on hands and knees, scrambling forward and pushing himself to his feet.

"Oh _please, _oh _please_," he begs, following the edge of the lake around, "_Please_!"

The waterfall gives him a blurred, shaky image of the world he is trying to escape and his back hits the metal doors of Daguerreo. There's nowhere else for him to go and he slams his fists on the doors, shrieking. "_Please!_ Open the _doors, **please**!_"

The wind sprays water in his face, and silverblue scales fill his vision. An impossibly large dragon stares at him through the water as though looking through a window, and he sobs, "_Please open!_"

The Dragon slowly slips its long, slender snout through the water and its eyes peer down at him as though he were some kind of bug. He swears It's grinning at him.

The mouth moves slightly and it sounds as though the Dragon's saying, "Shhhh." He finds himself unable to deny the command and stills his fists, staring into huge black eyes, drenched by displaced water. He wonders if heaven is wet.

"Shhhh."

"Please," he whispers. He's not sure why he's begging, or _who_ he's begging to, but it seems almost right.

"Shhhh."

**_It will all be over in a moment, Little One._**

It feels as though his blood is slowing in his veins –

There's a crack and pain shoots through his abdomen, but he can't muster the panic he needs as he looks down to study the oak branch jutting out of him.

He looks back into black eyes.

"Please," he rasps, and suddenly all that blood speeds up and he _screams_. "_Please open the door please please **please**!_"

The Dragon roars, like a laugh, and pulls away, leaving him drenched and bleeding with a fucking _tree_ in his _fucking stomach_ –

The metal at his back gives way and he falls to the stone ground.

The first thing he sees as his vision reddens is Her Majesty and all thought of consequence leaves. "Please," he gasps, "Your Majesty, _please-_"

"I should gut you where you lie!" a woman's voice snarls, "You fucking thief, you stole my-"

"This kid isn't even worth your time," the Flaming Amarant growls, "Why the hell did you even let him-"

People are shouting at him and around him but he can hardly even hear half of it anymore, he's choking on blood that must be in his lungs by now, none of his arms are responding, and his extensive vocabulary is reduced to one word.

"Please..."

Her Majesty kneels down and blindly reaches for him, and his eyes close at last.


	20. A Boiling Ocean

He can't open his eyes. He doesn't have the strength for it.

Wherever he is, it's warm and dry and dark, not like what he remembers from when he could see. Everything there was cold and wet and –

He feels something shake inside him.

**_I will find you,_** a hissing and familiar voice says deep in his core, **_I will find you and you _will _die this time._**

He tries to say something, to respond, but his vocal chords won't listen to him. Instead, he relies on his hearing – maybe the voice is a recording, or some kind of joke.

"This is a waste of time," he hears the Flaming Amarant snarl angrily, "We should be trying to find Eiko and figure out what the hell we're supposed to do now, rather than baby some stupid thief."

"I'm not going anywhere until he pays for stealing my axe."

"We must wait for the judgment of Daguerreo," her Majesty's voice says, and he wishes she had better news for him than that. "When we know their decision, we can act accordingly. Beatrix is currently looking for Eiko."

"Your Majesty, you do realize the severity of this situation, do you not?" a male voice – vaguely familiar but unnamed – speaks up, "Daguerreo has grown increasingly hard on thieves in the past few years, and I doubt we wish to stay and watch an execution."

He moans in defeat, and the voices all silence around him. He still can't see, but at least they know he's alive. Maybe that's not so great.

Two hands grip him by the neck and drag him up into a sitting position – his head reels from the movement and he gasps as pain shoots up his body.

"You _stole_ my _axe_, you stupid, filthy little bastard! I should have your head on a _platter_!"

"Lani!" her Majesty exclaims, "Don't shout at him."

He gags a little as fingers tighten. "I'll do what I wish, _your Majesty_."

"Lani," the unknown male voice says levelly.

A sigh and the hands move away – he tries to keep his balance but fails, falling back against the bed once more.

"I can't open my eyes," he rasps.

"You have very little energy. Please rest."

"He won't have long," Amarant growls, "I can hear those scholars coming back."

Sure enough, moments later a door opens somewhere to his left.

"Queen Garnet?"

"Yes?"

"We have been asked to direct you and your comrades to the main library, where Lady Eiko is waiting."

"And the thief?"

"We will deal with him presently. Thank you for your vigil, you may leave."

There is shuffling around him and then the door slams. A sigh, and he forces his eyes to open as much as possible. Everything in his half-lidded view is blurry, but he can make out four men in robes at the foot of his bed.

"You have been charged with theft, attempted second-hand dealing, and bringing malicious forces to the very doors of this haven. Daguerreo has, in the past, allowed you to stay here safely, but enough is enough. You have endangered the lives of every person inside these walls, discounting a member of Alexandrian royalty and her convoy."

He can't breathe.

"While the theft can be dealt with a temporary expulsion from our home, endangering the lives of people and bringing a vicious beast such as Leviathan to our doors cannot be tolerated."

"I thought... Leviathan was..."

"We have lost our protector, as have many other cities, and gained a terrible beast."

Another man picks up suddenly. "We have stated the charges. What is your response?"

He can't breathe and can't respond.

"Very well," the first states tersely, "Given the severity of your crimes, we have decided that the best course of action would be expulsion from Daguerreo."

That voice laughs inside him and he goes white-hot with fear.

"But Leviathan-"

"Leviathan is no longer our problem, but yours."

If he were any other person he would be sobbing right now, but he can't find that kind of power in him. Two of the men come to either side of his bed and say, "If you cannot move, we will carry you."

_This isn't happening_.

He doesn't move and so they drag him out of the bed with strength he didn't think they had. If he could, he would move and fight back, but his muscles are sore and his stomach is twisting in knots.

The two drag him along, through hallways and down stairs, while the other two proceed ahead of them to operate the gate. His eyes are open but he doesn't really want to look at anyone or anything, so instead he gazes at the stone floor beneath him. He's never going to see it again.

"We do not believe in the death penalty, so we have made sure the way is clear for you. How you leave is your business," one of the four men says quietly.

He doesn't respond.

* * *

Eiko sighs and looks at the group. This hasn't gone quite how she had thought it would – they were supposed to do something different, she supposes. Oh well – too late to worry about it. They've got bigger fish to fry, anyways. The world isn't in chaos, after all, so they must've done _something_ right. 

"We need to go to Esto Gaza," she tells the assembled group, frowning as they do so. "I know, I'm sorry I brought us here. I guess it wasn't what I thought it was... We should start northward as soon as possible.

"Where is Esto Gaza?" Eumol asks, looking down at his atlas, "I cannot find it on the map."

"It's on the Lost Continent. We'll have to spend another six days at sea, if I'm right about the course."

Eumol bites his tongue and doesn't respond.

"-How you leave is your business."

Eiko blinks and walks over to the balcony of the second floor, looking over the railing and towards the entrance. She realizes suddenly that four scholars are dragging the thief away, and a voice inside shrieks for her to stop them.

"Amarant!" she exclaims, "They're taking him away!"

"So what?" the hunter growls, crossing his arms, "Does it matter? We've got bigger problems."

"Please," she begs. The strangest look comes over the hunter's face just then – a foreign, nameless emotion that begs further inspection. She realizes that it's directed not all at her; instead, part of it is looking to Garnet, sitting beside the small summoner.

"Please," Garnet echoes Eiko.

Amarant vaults over the balcony and lands with a heavy thud behind the procession. The four scholars turn to look to him, the thief between them not even looking at the ground anymore, but through it. Eiko feels that _maybe_ they're doing what they were supposed to do now.

"How may we be of assistance?" one scholar asks.

"Where are you taking him?"

"We have decided upon expulsion from Daguerreo as punishment for his crimes. We were taking him to the exit."

Amarant snorts and Eiko leans over the railing a little – Garnet follows her lead but doesn't see anything, just hears it.

"We want him," the hunter states firmly, crossing his arms, "As he was the one who stole our companion's axe. We find it only fitting that we get to decide what to do with him."

They look unimpressed, and one says, "We do not adhere to bounty hunter rhetoric, and we do not want blood on our floors."

"Leave him with us," Amarant demands, adding in a more pacifying tone, "We're leaving shortly and he'll be out of your hair before we decide what to do."

The most commanding and severe looking scholar responds with a question. "Who are you to be commanding us, bounty hunter?"

Eiko winces, but Amarant doesn't seem phased.

"I am the Flaming Amarant, from the Mist Continent." His back straightens; the little summoner has never seen him so powerful as in this moment, "I am also one of her Majesty, Queen Garnet's escorts, and as such have been given the honor of fulfilling one of her wishes. She requests the thief come with us."

She glances to the side and sees Garnet nearly in tears; just beyond her are the others, staring over the railing in ill-concealed surprise at her big brother's sudden change in posture and tone.

"I see," the leader of the scholars mutters, frowning in annoyance. "She demands the thief go with you, to be killed as penance to another companion? Seems unlike the Queen I have heard so often of."

"I never once mentioned _death_," Amarant snarls, crossing his arms once more. "Her Majesty is too benevolent and soft for death. We have..." He smirks, "We have a better use for him."

Eiko is surprised he's lying so unabashedly. They just didn't want him to be left outside and killed.

"I understand," the scholar responds slowly, looking to the distracted thief who can't even stand on his own legs. "I must admit, giving him to those who he has taken from seems fitting."

Amarant looks to the other three scholars. "Do you also find it fitting?" he asks them.

A slow, unanimous agreement comes over the four, who look to the unresponsive thief.

"We have rethought our decision upon your expulsion," the leader tells him; he twitches a little and looks up half-heartedly. "You will be expelled and will not be allowed to return to our domain... however, we will allow you to stay in company of the Queen of Alexandria. Once she and her entourage leave, we will close our doors to you forever."

A moment of silence.

"Do you understand these terms?"

The thief looks down and nods quietly, pulling himself to his feet as the two on either side release him. Eiko watches him glance up at Amarant and then wince, and a voice echoes in her head as though through a long tube:

**_You will just make it easier, Little One_.**

She watches Amarant lead the other upstairs and fixes her gaze on the four-armed man when he enters their meeting.

"What's your name?" she asks, causing him to look up in surprise.

"It... It's Jack," he rasps.

Behind him, Amarant snorts.

"Jack...?" Garnet repeats, before smiling faintly, "The same Jack I met in Alexandria?"

The thief looks absolutely shocked that she would even remember him, much less talk to him, and bows out of respect instead of ulterior motives. "Yes, your Majesty. Alleyway Jack."

"How did you happen to get here from Alexandria?" Beatrix asks, frowning.

"I..." Jack's four hands fumble with each other. "I don't remember."

Amarant suddenly looks vaguely hostile and Steiner is snapping out a response. "Do not take us so lightly after we went through the effort to save your life."

"I'm not – I just..." Jack shakes his head and two of his hands come up to cover his face. "I just... _don't know_. I was just... _here_."

Eiko winces when someone laughs through that pipe connecting her to the thief. Jack catches it and looks at her through dirty nails, trying to pin whether or not she had heard what he had.

"Jack," Eiko tests the name and finds it okay on her tongue, "It's alright. Don't worry about it, okay? We'll figure it out."

Jack knows what she's talking about – she can see it on his face – and that's all that matters to her.

"We'd better finish buying supplies," Eumol speaks up suddenly, looking mild and not at all uncomfortable with the new addition to their group, "We're going to have to bargain for some extra rations."

Garnet nods slowly and Eiko smiles at the Burmecian while the others look almost offended.

Beatrix stands suddenly to attention and says, "Allow me to examine your injuries, _Jack_."

The thief looks confused but nods, allowing the general to lift his battered shirt and feel out the circular scar where a branch once was. Garnet did a decent job, considering...

Eiko shudders and feels as though someone has stepped on her grave.

There are footsteps coming from down the stone hall and so Eiko shifts to look towards the hallway. Three more scholars – not the same as the four from below – appear, each carrying a bundle of fur.

"Her Majesty, Queen Garnet, and her Highness, Eiko Fabool, if it suits you both, we have gathered some fur coats for you and your companions for your journey."

The foremost scholar bows halfway and holds his pile in front of him.

Eiko smiles and says, "Thank you very much," reaching out and taking the furs.

Garnet adds, "That is very kind."

The furs fit them all relatively well – Amarant's is actually too big, which surprises Eiko – but she finds them one short. Jack is staring at his feet, leaning halfway against the railing, looking as though he's contemplating jumping.

"I know it might be too much to ask," Eiko begins, looking apologetically at the scholars, "But might you have a coat that might fit Jack?"

One of the scholars glares at the thief hotly and Jack says, "Don't worry about it. I don't... I don't need one." He tries a laugh, which dies quickly, "It's not like I'm gonna live that far, right?"

Garnet suddenly frowns and narrows her eyes in Jack's general direction. "Do not assume such things!" she snaps, before turning her head almost to the scholars. "Please, if you have any furs at all that might be suited for our companion... I shall pay Daguerreo once I return to my kingdom, if that is what you will require."

Jack looks a little shocked at the queen and Eiko isn't surprised. After all, living like a thief – and she can see now that he really _did_ live that lifestyle – well, it hardly prepares you for royalty like Garnet.

One of the scholars seems to be thinking the same thing, because he raises his head and says, "Of course, your Majesty. There is no need for money; if you trust this man and wish to have him accompany you, we will do our best to help him."

"Thank you," Garnet returns, bowing her head slightly.

The scholars turn and leave, allowing the group to breathe a little easier. Eiko can tell that the formalities are killing their morale. Unfortunately, she can't think of anything to help relieve their worry. Instead, she simply sits down and hopes that by the time they get to Esto Gaza, the Eidolons will have spoken again.

* * *

The waves are choppier than they have been in the last two trips across the ocean, and that's a bit worrying for Eumol. He knows that so long as Beatrix is standing guard with him in the makeshift control room, they'll be fine, but once she loses her faith in him... 

He's not a sailor by nature. It was just pure, dumb luck that one day, when he was very young, his father had decided that he needed to learn how to sail a ship. At first, they had stuck to small things – sail boats, skiffs – nothing of true power or importance. But every time his father allowed him to take control...

Well, things happened. The winds turned pleasant and seemed to shift in the direction he did. The sun would be covered some times, keeping them cool in the open air. Sometimes, when given a night lesson, Eumol would swear that the stars were aligning themselves in directions just for him.

Of course, the wind didn't always stay calm, and the sun could beat down on him as though he were in a furnace. The stars, of course, never rearranged themselves for him – he was just good at making the best out of bad wind, and the stars were just easy for him to read, after hours of studying at night.

Eumol isn't, therefore, a sailor by nature, but by nurture – if his father hadn't decided to take him out on a skiff one day, he would be standing on the shores of Burmecia right now.

He wishes, sourly, that his father had crashed the skiff before he had been born.

"Eumol," Beatrix speaks up, "Are you alright?"

The Burmecian realizes that he's clenching the soft wood of the wheel too tightly and loosens his grip. "Yes, ma'am. I'm fine – just trying to concentrate on things other than the situation at hand.

"Not necessarily a wise decision," Beatrix responds, "But something we all seem to be doing, lately."

The sun is beating down but clouds are appearing – they'll cover it soon enough. Everyone is on deck, taking in the pleasant weather before whatever storms might hit. Eiko is talking with that new character, Jack, and Garnet is sitting in the sun, head tilted up and eyes thankfully shut, Amarant sitting silently at her side. Lani is at the bow, speaking with Steiner in seemingly light tones... Eumol wonders how light they really are.

"You don't need to stay here, ma'am," he speaks up, looking over his shoulder, "I can manage, if you'd like to go on deck."

"There is nothing for me down there," she says, and he realizes that she's moved beside him. A glance shows her staring down at the group with an almost bitter look.

"Your Queen is there, as is your husband."

Eumol is careful to keep his eyes to the horizon as he says this, and even though he can feel Beatrix's glare, he keeps himself nonchalant.

"The Queen is well protected for the moment."

"And your husband?"

He glances to her and finds her looking away at the horizon – looking beyond it.

"Relationships make little difference in our current situation. I will stay here."

Eumol gulps silently and nods. The clouds are approaching, and he wonders if there's going to be a physical storm, instead of simply a metaphorical one.

* * *

Amarant is the only one awake below deck. At least, he thinks he is – he can't see anyone else really, so who knows. He wonders if that rat will be able to navigate through this storm – the boat is pitching back and forth, and there's the sound of rain against wood and the feel of wind through gaps in the planks. They've been sailing for three full days now, and the sky had only been pretending to be a storm for the last two. Still, it makes no difference – Eumol and Beatrix are in the cabin and Lani is on the deck, drenching herself, so they're sure to be forewarned if something goes wrong. 

Lightning far way brightens the hull and Amarant is awarded a clear view of Eiko, who is sitting against the wooden walls a few feet away from him, staring into the furthest corners of the dark. The lightning also renders his eye useless for the moment, and so he spends about ten minutes regaining his night vision.

Eiko isn't just staring; she's watching Jack from across the gloom. He is curled up, with hands clasped over his ears as though blocking out noise. Instead of focusing on the strange, four-armed thief, Amarant watches Eiko. She's only eleven, but she looks so grown up – so _adult_ – that he can't help but feel some form of worry for her. She should be playing in the Lindblum gardens, having history lessons in the library, or...

Those are should haves that never happened and he needs to get used to it.

The ship rocks violently, tilting the bow up and down with ferocity previously unseen in this storm. Jack yelps, suddenly, sitting up straight and staring at something beyond the walls.

"Jack?"

Amarant looks to Eiko and finds her pale and almost afraid.

"I'm sorry," Jack rasps, "This is my fault!"

The boat rocks again and Amarant gets to unsteady feet.

"What have you done?" he growls.

"I'm _sorry_."

Lani burst down into the hull, soaking wet, terrified, and out of breath.

"Leviathan!"

Garnet raises herself up and makes a noise that worries Amarant to no end. Jack crawls forward, towards her, but Lani's axe blocks his path.

"If we throw _you_ to Him, we might be alright," Lani snarls, barking out a laugh that reminds Amarant of times long past, "You'll serve a purpose after all!"

"No!"

Lani reaches for the four-armed thief, but Steiner's hand blocks hers and he says, "Lani," in a level voice that holds something foreign to Amarant's ears. His comrade backs away slightly.

"Jack," Garnet calls through the dark, and the thief scrambles forward, grabbing her hand and bowing his head low.

"Everyone, stay here," Eiko commands, turning and climbing up to the deck.

"I'm sorry, your Majesty," Jack rasps, "I'm so sorry – I didn't come with you!"

"No one expected you to, Jack," Garnet responds softly, "It wasn't required of you."

"You don't understand," the thief exclaims, "I had dreams! Commands in my sleep to come with you, and I ignored them!"

Lani stiffens and Amarant turns away. He doesn't want to hear this – he doesn't want to think that even this stupid thief has more right to be at Garnet's side than him. No images dictate to him, no voices guide him. He doesn't want this stupid thief to have more purpose than he does.

"And now He's come after me, and I can't tell you why he's following me!"

"I can't listen to this," Amarant growls, turning to the ladder. "I'm going to do something productive."

He takes the ladder in three leaps and is pitched into a storm. In the center of the deck, under the looming bluesilver shadow of Leviathan, is the bright white light of Eiko's trance.

Something about it seems different from how it used to be. The light is purer, less shaded by pinks and purples and almost completely white. Her horn is long but curved, ivory in color and emitting its own personal glow. The most striking things are her wings – now almost seven feet in span – and her bright, pupil-less eyes.

She looks like an angel – like a tiny Eidolon.

"You are not allowed here, Leviathan!" she shouts, wings unfolding, "Leave us!" Her voice sounds like her own, but there are deeper inflections – he can hear Old Man Thunder and even Fenrir under her soft tones.

Leviathan responds in a deep voice, and Amarant reels as he realizes that the Dragon can now speak to him as well as any other Eidolon.

"Little summoner, I have no reason to listen to you. You hold no sway over a God!"

His wings encase the sky.

"You are _hardly_ a God! The bastard son of Bahamut and the sea – hardly immortal, hardly powerful! _You_ are the one who holds no power here!"

"I have become more than Bahamut gave me! Through the blood of the weak Carbuncle, I have become a God!"

"So that's how you can speak to Jack..."

A deep, guttural laugh shakes the sea.

"His form deceives even you, blessed summoner."

"Leviathan," Eiko snarls, looking not at all sweet or pure, "Leave us now, before I become truly enraged!"

A hand lands on Amarant's shoulder and Garnet and Jack are beside him.

"She's so bright," Garnet whispers, "I can nearly see your face."

"You might have the blessings of Gods, but you are still only human!"

Light explodes from Amarant's sister-in-name, filling the deck, the sky, and perhaps the entire world. When it clears, Eiko is out of trance, swaying on her feet, and the only remnant of the Water Dragon is a single scale on the deck.

Amarant bounds forward and sweeps the little girl into his arms as she falls, half-unconscious.

"You..." Jack falls to his knees, eyes wide, "You _destroyed_ him!"

"No," Eiko whispers to Amarant and the wind, "Just... gone. Judgment... I can send them to judgment."

"Eiko," Amarant rasps, "What have you done?"

"It's complicated... So, _so_ complicated..."

"Amarant," Garnet calls. He looks to see her being held steady by Jack, looking out towards Eiko. "It's a bad storm – we should take cover."

"Yeah," he mutters, standing with Eiko in his arms, "Yeah, come on."

"Big brother," Eiko mumbles in an almost sleepy voice, "We're so close..."

"I hope," he tells her, allowing himself to squeeze her shoulder slightly. He will never tell anyone else, but he's sure that in this moment, he loves the little summoner like a real sibling.

* * *

The storm has subsided completely. It's still night – very close to dawn, but still dark – and Jack can't sleep. That girl... Eiko? She is something to behold. That was no ordinary girl on that deck – that was no ordinary trance he had seen. Something deep inside him makes him feel like he should protect that girl – like she is his only chance at salvation. 

It doesn't surprise him that he's on the back deck, looking at the stars in a clear sky. He can't stand it below. Something about the others smothers the part of him that brought him this far – something makes that piece of him hurt.

"It's awfully late to be stargazing."

Jack turns to see Eiko leaning against the back wall of the cabin, gazing at him mildly. She has no wings now, and her horn is almost insignificant compared to her trance.

"What did you do?" he asks, because he needs the answer like water.

"I sent Leviathan to his judgment. He will be tried."

"By who?"

"I don't know. It doesn't matter – it'll take years, and by then... well, this will be over."

She glows still, and he can see it, even if it's faint. It's as though her skin is barely concealing the fire of that angel from the deck, barely containing it. She could burst at any moment.

"...What _are_ you?" he rasps.

She paces forward and sighs, leaning against the railings. "I'm just Eiko Carol. The last summoner..." She laughs, almost bitterly – it doesn't fit her – and adds, "The only one here who has nothing left to lose."

"I don't have anything to lose, either," Jack grumbles, surprised when the summoner laughs openly.

"You have your life, Jack! You have _everything_ to lose."

"So do you, little kid. After all..." He picks at his memory – it was so long ago – and then smirks, "After all, I still owe you dinner, don't I?"

She blinks and looks at him for a long while, before smiling a sad, melancholy smile. "I knew you were that guy from Treno. No... You don't owe me anything. I wouldn't be able to go, anyways."

"Why not?" He crosses all his arms and pouts, "It's because I've four arms, isn't it?"

"No," she whispers, "No... It's..."

She is silent and so is he. Something isn't right and it worries him.

"I have a time limit right now, Jack."

"What do you mean, a time limit?"

She frowns and looks about – as if expecting someone to be hiding, spying – and then grabs one of his hands, pulling it free and pressing it against her chest.

"Hey – you're a little too young for me-"

She stares at him and he stares at his hand. Her skin is glowing, her cheeks are a little red, her eyes are bright and alive, but...

He presses his hand flat and is rewarded with no heaving chest, no fluttering heart.

"Jack," Eiko whispers, sounding like a drum in his head, "You can't tell them."

"I... You have my word."

Nothing moves beneath his hand. She is alive and well and utterly dead.


	21. Save The Queen

Jack wakes up to icicles and fogged breath, shuddering and curled up as though he can keep warm just by himself. His teeth chatter as he stiffly reaches for his fur coat, pulling it on and fitting his lower set of arms underneath the cool skin. It only has two sleeves, but it's no matter – he's just glad to have the thing at all.

There's nobody else in the hull and he wonders if something's happened. With creaky bones, he clambers over to the ladder and shakily makes his way to the deck, unused to the cold.

The deck is splotched with snow, and icicles hang off of everything around them. Everyone is on deck – with the exception of the sailor Burmecian – and as he makes his way towards the bow, he can see that the ocean is iced over for miles. In the distance, through the light snowfall, he can just make out a landmass – a mountain.

"Finally, you grace us with your presence," Amarant growls from his left. "Nice of you to join us."

"Where are we?"

The bounty hunter nods to the shadowy mountain.

"That's the Lost Continent."

"Mount Gulug, to be exact," the woman general, Beatrix, cuts in, coming to stand on Jack's right, arms crossed and short hair spotted with flakes of snow. "A rather foreboding place, but if Eiko is correct..." She trails off, and then offers Amarant a strange, sad smile, "If she is correct, this may be the end of our troubles."

"Or just the beginning," the bounty hunter growls, turning and looking away. He adds, "We're probably going to walk the ice, so don't bring any more stolen goods with you."

"At least one of us will have had enough sleep to handle it," Lani growls, closer to the bow.

"If you hadn't been panicking over _drowning_, you would have had enough too," Amarant snaps. He then looks back to Jack, shifting and standing with a purpose the thief can't quite make out. "The queen asked me to watch you. Apparently, you need a babysitter."

Jack knows better than to argue, so he simply nods and lets the other stand close.

After a few minutes, the scenery begins to blur together and Jack almost wants to go back to sleep. He knows he can't – and that he really wouldn't, given the chance – because there is something... forbidden about him being here. Something feels as though it doesn't want him anywhere _near_ this Lost Continent; he can only hope it's just his imagination.

There's a sudden grinding noise and the boat comes to a shaky, sudden halt. The Burmecian emerges onto the deck, wrapped in a thinner fur coat than the rest of them.

"We'll have to walk from here – the ice is too thick to separate." He walks to the bow and looks out over the ice, frowning a little, tail shifting under the fur coat. "It looks thick enough to hold our weight, as well, but..."

"We will be fine, Eumol," General Beatrix states firmly, arms crossed. "Your judgment is all we need."

Eumol's ears flatten and he looks very unsure – Jack isn't sure that he wants to listen to either of them right now.

"Well, come on then!" Eiko exclaims, dashing to put the ladder down, "We're almost there – no time to wait!"

"She's got more on her plate than she can handle," Amarant mutters quietly, shaking his head. "Her false cheer isn't hiding anything."

"Just pretend it is," Jack responds in just as low a voice, earning a bit of a startled glance from the bounty hunter, who probably didn't expect Jack to do much talking at all.

They go, single file, down the ladder, and it isn't until Amarant touches the ice that they all decide it will hold. The hunter looks a little worried, but Jack doesn't think much of it – ice, sturdy or not, is no fun to walk on. It looks to be a long way to that distant mountain, so he pulls his jacket tighter around him and takes to following the little girl in front.

He's not sure why he's here at all – the last time he saw these folks, they had been off to the Evil Forest, and he had been sure they'd never be seen again. That had been all well and good; after all, the Queen (bless her, still blind but stronger than _he_ could ever be) had taken the two most fearsome bounty hunters along with her, and the two captains of Alexandria's military force.

Of course, there isn't a military to control, but it's the thought that counts.

Still, even as they had been leaving, Jack had felt that he was forgetting something important. Watching that intrepid group toddle off into the unknown had set off something in him, like a fire given kindling. It hadn't been until late at night, a few days later, that he remembered a dream he had had, a good few weeks before the entire disaster. Even now, only parts stand out to him, but he distinctly remembers the sound of howling winds – only, not wind, but more like wolves – and a frozen wasteland. Later on, he remembered a little more, but it was all vague, with a bright glow far away from him, and the voice of someone – someone deep and ancient – telling him to travel north, if he valued the lives of anyone other than himself... If, in the end, he valued the life of a young woman who could not see the future.

He hadn't remembered it until after the group had left, and even after remembering, he hadn't considered the Queen until after two bottles of some aged wine, miraculously safe in the wreckage of some Alexandrian's house. And the voice came back to him, in a very ominous tone, saying _you must not fail, there will be fire if you fail,_ and then later, on his way to Treno, it became more pleading, _please do not fail!_

He still can't tell who the voice belonged to – it reminds him now of Leviathan, but it is far more benevolent than the sea serpent. He thinks that he can still hear it – but only in the quiet moments just before sleep.

It doesn't matter. He's here now – that should be all that matters.

It takes them a decent hour or so to cross the slippery, shady ice; at times, the Burmecian in the lead has them stop, so that he can check the thickness of the ice. With every passing moment and every short stop, Jack sees Amarant grow more and more agitated – he doesn't question it, but he files it away. It might be important, later on in this trip.

The moment they hit solid ground, they realize just how much further they have to go. While the location of Esto Gaza is, according to Eiko, just up the way, they've arrived during a soft snowfall and there is a thick layer of snow on the ground.

As he pulls his jacket as close to his body as possible, Jack debates on whether or not he should have just left Daguerreo on his own – after all, this is turning out to be a lot more trouble than it's worth.

_At least_, he thinks, looking ahead to the little girl leading them, _If she's right, this'll all be over soon_.

* * *

It takes them almost four hours to reach the plateau where Esto Gaza rests, and when the white columns and torch come into view through the snow, Beatrix can hardly contain her admiration. To build something so delicately shaped in the middle of such a harsh environment is an amazing feat – nearly as incredible as the idea that religious pilgrims regularly make their way up the mountain, and come back for more. She finds it to be a demonstration of how well people can adapt to any environment, and it gives her hope for those in Alexandria and the other Mist kingdoms. 

"It looks in good shape," Steiner says from beside her, almost too quiet for the winds. She looks to him mildly – but without any real care. She can't care.

"Perhaps the Eidolons have not yet found it," she replies, marching forward even as the others slow to a halt. They can't afford to stop now – they're too close. She wants things to begin healing, but an open wound needs to be cleaned first.

She will help Alexandria heal, no matter the price.

The doors are light and open at her softest touch, revealing the city that she has only heard of in stories. It is just as graceful and beautiful as it was described, with white marble and glowing obelisks and –

"Welcome, travelers, to Esto Gaza."

The high priest looks over their ragged group and his smiling face smoothes into a pitying, fatherly mask.

"Has the journey here been difficult? I am afraid we have become overly complacent with our current weather."

"You're kidding me," Amarant growls from behind. "You're telling us that you don't know?"

"Know what, pilgrim? Is the outside world troubled?"

There's a squeak of almost outrage from the back and Eumol suddenly brushes past Beatrix, eyes narrowed at the priest.

"_Troubled!_" he exclaims, "Is the outside world _troubled_? It's in utter _chaos_! Tell me," he snaps, and Beatrix doesn't know him anymore, "Are there Burmecians here? Cleyrans? Any at all?"

"Why... yes. There are a few couples here, on their yearly pilgrimage. We are always open to-"

"I need to see them," the sailor says, eyes softening and going a little numb, "I need to see them. It's urgent."

"Follow me, then. I shall take you to them."

Amarant is growling under his breath but Beatrix ignores him – this really is more important at the moment.

They are taken to the shop – this is truly a gateway rather than a town – and there, they find four Burmecians and a Cleyran couple. Eumol's ears flatten and he steps towards them, faltering only once.

One of the male Burmecians turns to him and smiles brightly. "Another from Burmecia? We never see many others here, but-"

"Kal, stop being so insensitive," the female beside him interrupts, turning to look at the group and then Kal. "Can't you see that they're worn out already? We had enough trouble getting here, you should know!"

"I was just-"

"Hush." The woman turns to them and smiles as politely as possible. "Come, sit down and relax. You've made it safely."

"That's not what I'm here for," Eumol rasps, looking over the group in its entirety. "We didn't come here for religion. Kal... correct?"

"Yeah, that's me. What is it?"

Beatrix can tell by the other Burmecians' postures that they've realized something's up. It must be Eumol's anxiety, along with their groups' projected image, that sets their nerves.

"Burmecia," Eumol moans now, almost sagging to his knees but miraculously holding up, "Burmecia – and Cleyra – they're..."

"Has there been another attack?" the other male Burmecian asks, standing up suddenly, "Has King Puck sent for us?"

"Our kingdoms are... are..."

"Spit it out, man!" Kal exclaims, ears flattened back in nervousness.

"They're _gone_."

Beatrix had expected shock, then anger, and of course tears. Instead, they get blank looks – as though these Burmecians simply don't understand.

"What do you mean – gone?"

"I mean... I mean they've been destroyed. Demolished." Eumol shudders and whispers, "Nearly everyone died."

"King Puck!" Kal exclaims, standing now, "Is he – did he...?"

"His Majesty is safe. He was in Lindblum at the time... but Lindblum, too, has suffered... As has Alexandria..."

"Alexandria?" the unnamed Burmecian barks, eyes burning, "Alexandria will never suffer as much as we have – you come saying that our home is destroyed, but Lindblum and Alexandria have only _suffered_? It was probably their filthy plan to-"

As if they are the same person, Beatrix and Steiner have moved to either side of Eumol, swords drawn and pointed towards the Burmecian.

"Say that again, you cur," Steiner growls, "Speak ill of Alexandria in front of Her Royal Majesty and I will have your _head_."

"Steiner!"

Beatrix knows that the Queen would be repulsed to see them both with their swords drawn, but she doesn't replace hers quite as quickly as Steiner does. Those words are salt to the wound.

"Mad, blasted Alexandrians!" the Burmecian snaps, "The lot of you!"

Eumol has his ears back and eyes narrowed.

"You're here with your _faith_ and your _compassion_, you moronic rat!" he snarls, stepping forward, "Show some of both towards myself and Her Majesty, Queen of Alexandria!" At this, Beatrix must step aside so that Eiko can lead Garnet to the front. "You are isolated here and all you have to show for my news is _accusations?_"

"Eumol," Garnet says, "That is enough."

Eumol retreats slightly, and the Burmecians as a whole look to Garnet.

"I am sorry for what has happened – to _all_ the world. My kingdom is not responsible, but we _are_ trying to help. Place blame on us if it will help you heal, but we have done nothing but support the Burmecian kingdom and King Puck. Your kingdom has suffered the rage of Leviathan, and our own kingdoms have had many Eidolons attack." She bows her head. "It has never been my wish to see people die."

The female Burmecian, next to Kal, finally stands and puts a hand on both males' shoulders.

"Sit down, you two. This is no time to be throwing around threats." She looks to their ragged group now, and Beatrix feels... remorse? No, not quite so melancholy...

"I believe you're here to do more than tell us what's happened?"

Garnet nods and the Burmecian sighs.

"Talk to the priest. He can help you. Thank you for telling us what has happened."

As they leave the storefront, Eumol leading with a limp, Beatrix glances back and finds one of the Burmecians in tears. She doesn't feel a thing.

The priest smiles and nods as they ask for a place to stay, and invites them into the tiny inn. Its mid-afternoon and they're already exhausted, but only for a little longer – only until they reach the summit of the mountain and solve all their problems.

* * *

They've slept well through the late afternoon and into the night, but now Jack's restless as all hell. He supposes it's because he's gotten the most sleep out of the entire group, but still... 

_Maybe it's more than that_, he thinks as he stands on the terrace of Esto Gaza's pathway to the faraway mountain. It's as though a voice is echoing in his head, faint and tired, trying to tell him something important but unable to do so.

"I guess I'm not alone."

Jack looks over his shoulder and sees Eiko glowing in the shadows – ever since Leviathan, he's noticed her glow more and more, though he's not sure why.

He tries a grin, even though it stretches his skin uncomfortably, and says, "I guess you're not, sweetheart. Shouldn't young summoners be in bed?"

"I don't sleep very much anymore." The girl comes out of the shadows and walks to Jack's side. "It doesn't... matter, I guess."

Her eyes are on the mountain and so Jack turns his there as well.

"Mount Gulug," Eiko murmurs, "It used to look a lot... scarier."

"It's just a mountain," he tells her, "Nothing to be scared of there."

"No, Jack," she responds, looking pale and tired in the moonlight and her own glow, "That is the one place we should all be afraid of." Her eyes are drawn to the very top of the mountain and when he looks, he sees a strange orange glow coming from a large cavern. "That's where this is all going to end... for better or worse."

"How do you even know?" He can't help asking – it begs to be answered.

"...I'm not sure. I just... Can't you feel it?"

He stares hard and long, but nothing seems special about it. The voice continues in the back of his mind, hissing.

"Not really... But I'll take your word for it. You're the leader, after all."

Eiko blinks suddenly, and Jack's surprised to see her eyes shimmering with tears.

"The leader, huh?" she says shakily, "I used to be... just another part of the gang. Zidane... _he_ was the leader."

Zidane... he remembers the monkey-boy. He had told that kid his real name, once... and he had later gone on to marry Queen Garnet. He remembers him being... okay.

"I miss him," Eiko whispers. "I wish he were leading me, and not..."

Jack looks at her and finds her in silent tears – he puts one arm over her shoulders and the other behind her back, pulling her close to his side.

"Don't worry," he says at long last, "You're doing a good job. And it'll be over soon, anyways, right?"

"I hope," she mumbles. "I hope."

* * *

Beatrix looks over the major obelisk as she waits for the head priest to finish counseling a young pair of lovers on their honeymoon. She has many questions to ask about Mount Gulug and the strange fires they have been seeing at the summit, and she knows that he will be able to answer them at least to some extent. 

The head priest smiles as the couple leaves for the terrace, and then turns to face Beatrix with a comforting look on his face. It does little, however, to appease her, and instead she tells him directly, "I wish to speak with you about Mount Gulug."

"Ah, yes," he says, frowning now in thought, "Mount Gulug. I assume that you are attempting to journey to its summit... the conviction in your heart tells me that much." He comes forward and stops within a few feet from her. "What your heart does _not_ tell me is why. Come, let us walk."

He leads her towards the terrace and she finds herself giving him a vague account of the last six weeks, attempting to stress the importance of their action. When she finishes, they are at the edge of the terrace, looking out to the mountain in question.

"I see," the priest says contemplatively. "The world has been greatly troubled in my mind for the last few weeks, and I see now why. It explains many of the goings-on here on this continent as well."

"Please," she says, "Tell me. What is going on at the top of that mountain?"

He sighs, and they begin to walk again; Beatrix is certain that walking must be the only way for this man to talk. She would be aggravated if moving didn't relieve some of her tension.

"Only a few months ago did we realize something was amiss at Mount Gulug. The flames you see at the topmost part are not made by man, but by a restless and vindictive Eidolon. It arrived there in the last throes of winter, and because of its presence the seasons have been thrown off irreparably. It has been winter for four months longer than normal. We have only seen the Eidolon leave once, on the back of a great animal, riding through the skies with fire at its tail. Once it returned, the fire began burning at all hours every day. We have, since then, decided to keep ourselves out of sight of the Eidolon, so that it might not visit its rage upon our city."

They've arrived onto a small balcony hanging over the edge of a cliff, looking out at the mountain through sheer red curtains. The light inside the room is dim and scarlet, painting the mountain in a more sinister view.

"If you indeed wish to visit the summit of Mount Gulug and return the Eidolon to its place in this world, then I will unlock the barriers and direct you to the safest route around the mountain, as opposed to _through_ it." He smiles at her, "You are doing a noble thing, General. I will be glad to offer any assistance I might."

She smiles faintly as she looks at the mountain's glowing summit, and replies in a soft voice, "Thank you, priest."

"Feel free to stay here and reflect; I must go attend to another couple who desire my blessings."

She doesn't respond and the priest leaves. Mount Gulug seems to be drawing her every thought and every hope – perhaps...

"It is dark," a breathy, soft voice calls from behind. Beatrix turns to find a young adolescent girl standing in the curtained doorway, draped in purple robes and wearing a vacant, dazed expression. The general has heard of these girls before – young women with the gift of foresight, who live in religious holy grounds in order to better serve God...

Beatrix is about to respond when the girl continues, "The darkness – it consumes all within its grasp. Oh, it is the cold that inside freezes so completely... The heat from outside cannot penetrate the frost within. We cannot see through the darkness – do not worry; do not worry, for we shall be deft. Oh, the dark! Oh, the pain of losing those we love to the tides of time... These wounds shall heal. These times will pass. Dawn will come as always. It will not be the end. Tell them."

The girl sags against the doorway and her eyes blink back into focus. She stares at Beatrix, who feels something cold go down her back, and then says in a much more grounded voice, "I'm so sorry."

She turns away, even before Beatrix can ask her what she means.

* * *

They leave Esto Gaza at noon on the third day after their arrival. The head priest sees them off through the barriers set between Mount Gulug and the gateway city, and doesn't even flinch at Eumol's bland and vaguely disgusted look. Jack is surprised; usually people get pretty riled by dirty looks, but the priest barely bats an eye. Still, after a few hours of Eumol's glare as he stays behind, the priest will no doubt whack him one. 

Even as Esto Gaza grows smaller behind them, the mountain looks barely nearer than before – at least to Jack. The others look almost optimistic, even if he knows they aren't feeling it. They're just doing it to make everyone else feel better – it's really kind of annoying. He doesn't feel optimistic at all.

The mountain's voices are still talking – they have been ever since they arrived. He wonders if he's the only one to hear them whispering, speaking of things he wishes he could understand, sounding as though they were coming through thick layers of cloth. He's sure there's more than one – there has to be, because one feels almost sinister, while the other reminds him of his dreams.

They're out of sight of Esto Gaza by the time night falls, and the mountain is now looming above them. They make camp next to the base of the mountain, inside a thick patch of trees, and while Amarant sets to making a fire, Jack digs a rock out from under the snow and sits. He doesn't like walking a lot and avoids it when he can, but today they haven't stopped in hours – he wonders if this is how they've been doing it since the beginning of the journey. It doesn't really matter, but he still would like to know.

They eat dried fruits and charred meat – gifts from the Esto Gaza priests – and after a while Jack looks up from the bones of his meal to see the others gazing into the fire, lost in their own worlds.

The mountain voices are still whispering by the time the two moons touch, the time when they all finally make their beds with thin wooden bedrolls and fur coats. They are the reason Jack is still up, even after Eiko's fallen into a fitful sleep; they call out through a veil he can't push aside, and it might very well drive him mad.

What he doesn't see, staring up at the branches clutching at the sky, is Lani, sitting up in the dark and looking over the group. She can't sleep; not for any particular reason, just because there's a bundle of nerves in her stomach that refuse to unwind long enough to let her rest. Her axe glows dimly, leaning on the tree beside her bedroll, and its presence is reassuring.

She takes it in hand as she rises to her feet, clutching its handle with the ease of someone far too used to its weight, and slides quietly through the trees. It listens to her soundless pleas for comfort but cannot give her any solace – it is a thing, a weapon, and weapons can't offer anything but pain.

"Damn it," Lani mutters, leaning against a tree far enough away from the campsite that no one can see her. _This isn't working. What the hell are we even **doing** here? We don't even know what's up there... We don't even know what we're going to do when we get to the top._ She looks to her axe, which is now once more leaning against a tree, and decides that no matter what, at least she won't be defenseless this time.

"It will not be over quickly."

Lani jerks her head up and looks towards the sky – above her is fire, as though the canopy had been ignited – as a booming voice speaks down to her, "I will take my time with you."

It isn't... it doesn't feel like an Eidolon's voice. It would almost be a normal tone, if not for its resonance and for the speaker's invisibility.

"What – What do you mean?"

Another voice speaks, one she knows – "I am not afraid of you."

And then the forest goes black as the flames are extinguished, as the stars fade away, as the very moons seem to disappear beneath black clouds of feathers –

"Lani."

Her eyes clear and she looks towards the camp – Steiner stands there in his coat, close enough to grab her but _so far_ from her nightmare.

"...What do you want, sir knight?" She stretches her arms and tries to ignore the unease in her stomach at his closeness, "It's awfully late for a brave warrior to be awake."

"In that case," he says slowly, "Why are you still awake? You should be asleep." He smirks, "You were complaining only a few days ago of the meager amounts of sleep we've all been getting."

"Yeah, well..." She looks again to the sky and finds the stars in their places – the moons and the branches too. "I never said I was brave."

He comes closer and his hand lands on her shoulder. "Your eyes were distant. Another vision?"

"...I guess. More feathers. Nothing-"

**_I am not afraid of you._**_ – Tell him! Tell him **now**, don't waste your opportunity –_

Why should she tell him anything?

"Nothing but feathers and darkness. Kind of annoying, actually."

"Your legs are shaking," he says quietly.

Lani swears under her breath and finds herself loathing the man in front of her. "What does it matter to you, o' _noble_ knight? You have a wife some few yards away – go take solace in her and leave me alone already!"

He leans close – only inches from her face – and hisses, "Do not speak of my wife, and do not shout."

He sounds angry but she knows how to read people pretty well; she can see that his anger is only a façade – underneath he's scared, terrified, and not just of his wife finding him so close to the bounty huntress.

"What do you _want_ from me, Steiner?" Lani finally asks, sighing almost into his mouth because of how close they are, "Why are you here?"

His hand moves from her shoulder to her cheek and she feels something spike there, like a magical current that she can't control – not unlike her first time with the axe.

"I just want this," he murmurs. "Contact." A bit bitterly, "Warmth."

Her chest constricts tightly and she has to force something out to get him away – this _has to end_.

"I can't give that to you."

His eyes pierce hers and she wants to reach out and grab her axe – just for comfort, just in case.

But no, he's not going to try anything stupid – he just watches her for a moment and leans in the little way between their mouths.

The kiss isn't sloppy, but it definitely lacks calculation and when it's over he seems... unhappy. Worried.

Terrified.

"I'm sorry," he rasps, pulling his hand away, stepping away, "I'm so-"

She can't stand it.

"C'mere," she mutters, grabbing his arm and pulling him back, "Try that again with a little more _care_. I'm not ice."

He does so and she feels like turning into molten flame. He's kissing her as he had in the Village, and if he isn't careful –

His hand grasps her thigh and she decides to fuck being careful. Beatrix is sleeping and they're in shadows – featherless shadows, thankfully – and they both just need warmth.

His hand moves from her thigh to her stomach, sliding under fur and cloth and connecting cold fingers to heated skin. They trace curves and circles under her shirt and she pushes against him, hooking a leg around his waist and pulling him tight to her. He pulls out of the kiss for air and she uses that time to concentrate on pant lacings, working with shaky numb fingers.

He bites her lip and she lets go of the leather threats, allowing his hand to leave her long enough –

She sighs breathlessly as his hand slides against her, pushing past fabric and _oh –_ she straddles him, holding on with ankles crossed and one hand clutching bark, moving her lips to his earlobe and he groans quietly – _have to be quiet_ – shifting on his feet.

Lani knows what's next by the way Steiner's hand moves from her to the tree, and pulls her head back, hits the bark, and bites her lip, ready to become molten.

* * *

The sun has barely risen, but they find themselves already wide awake and prepared for another long day of walking. Jack has had a pitiful amount of sleep, barely getting more than three hours without the mountain voices speaking to him – or through him. He's still not sure. 

Eiko is grinning, looking so sure of herself, and he wonders if she knows what's up there. Does she know this will have a happy ending? She _must_ – she's a... something. She's something from another world.

Lani is barely able to keep her knees from knocking together – she has the hot-cold shivers of too much exertion after too little sleep, but she knows better than to complain. They'll reach the summit by tonight. They'll be done by tonight.

She looks at Steiner and decides that _everything_ will be done by tonight. She'll take Red and bail, soon as possible. Leave the knight to look after her poor blind Majesty – Amarant's not a guide-dog.

Amarant has his hand on Garnet's shoulder, leading her from just behind Eiko, and he's sure that the queen only needs him to keep her from falling off the thin path they're now climbing. It's barely wide enough for Amarant to walk on safely – a little wider than that of Daguerreo – but Eiko's marching along so smartly that he has little fear for them.

At midday, they're almost two-thirds the way to the summit, and Beatrix – being behind Amarant – is given the task of handing out left over food from the night's dinner. They don't stop walking – Amarant simply puts an arm backwards to help Beatrix from falling off the edge, and allows her to go through his pack. She barely finds enough for everyone, and when she hands the last bit to Amarant, she realizes they won't have enough for everyone on the way back down.

She forgoes her own meal, returning it to the pack, only to have Jack hand her his own.

"I'm fine," he assures her, even though his eyes are rimmed with black and red, and his limbs are all shuddering under his thick coat. She accepts it because... well. She knows what it's like to have offers refused.

Her mind is still on Esto Gaza – still on the priest's story and the oracle's words. She wonders if they both know something she herself doesn't; the thought worries her but there's not much she can do to change the fact now. Instead, she forces her mind to speculate on what might be living in the cave on the top of the mountain – an Eidolon, yes, but which? Riding on the back of a fiery animal... a dragon, most likely, as those seem to be popular among the ancient gods.

Eiko stops them at a point where the pathway juts out far from the mountain, giving them a decently wide space to spread out in. She looks at them all and says, "We're so close... I can feel It. If – if you guys want to go back – we can. This would be it. If not... we should rest. So we can get in there at night. Daytime is bad luck against Eidolons."

No one speaks – everyone's too tired to do much of anything right now, rather than sit down on their bedrolls and try to get some rest. Jack looks at the distant ocean – visible from this altitude – and wonders if it's okay to run away.

He won't, but it's still an idea.

Beatrix is still looking towards the summit, now hidden from view. _Be deft,_ she thinks, closing her eyes to get just a few more hours of sleep.

* * *

By nightfall, they're awake, decently rested, armed as best they can be, and fed their meager dinner portions. Eiko doesn't know who's up there, waiting, but she's not about to wait around to find out. The Eidolon most likely doesn't even realize they're here – she's felt the energy and it's chaotic. Whichever Eidolon is up there... 

"It's been driven mad," she tells them quietly as they begin their final trek up the mountain, "It can't stand the power imbalance."

"Like a punk kid who's run away from home," Amarant grunts, shrugging his shoulders and flexing his clawed hand, "Easy enough."

"You'd say that," Eiko says, "But you're crazy too, Ama-chan."

Jack snorts from the back and Amarant casts a dark look over his shoulder.

The moons rise high as they climb to the great cavern at the summit, and Jack finds it increasingly hard to concentrate on anything. The voices, once shielded from his mind by a veil, have grown in volume and are still unintelligible – but the force of their words is enough to make him lose all focus to the outside world.

A sudden burst of warmth from in front of them causes them all to halt, looking forward. The mouth of the cave is ahead – much larger than anything Jack had imagined – and though it seems shaded, bursts of flame from within light the entrance, beckoning.

Jack hears two swords being drawn and turns his head – Steiner and Beatrix are both armed, with Lani holding her axe warily, ready to hit anyone who comes too close. He wonders why he ever thought he could get away using that thing; it looks so at home in her arms that the idea of anyone else owning it seems ludicrous.

"...Are... Are we all okay?" Eiko asks weakly, glowing bright in the dark. They nod to her and approach as one towards the entrance.

The cave is huge – it seems to take up most of the top of the mountain. Its one large cavern, with four bonfires in each rough corner, each large enough to roast a whole dragon in. In the middle of the vast cavern kneels a man – only, he's far too large to be a man, as he is nearly the size of a dragon himself, with a huge golden helmet and huge black horns –

_Oh Gods,_ Jack realizes suddenly as the Man looks up, _He's heard every thought._

"You have finally come," the Man says slowly, and His voice has the resonance of an Eidolon's but none of the feeling. "I have waited patiently ever since you arrived. I heard you coming."

He stands and they see a black blade hanging from his belt.

"Odin," Garnet breathes.

"Yet you come with these tiny things," Odin continues, ignoring Garnet utterly and focusing red eyes on Eiko. "Did you think that they would protect your human shell?"

"Odin – why are you here?" Eiko asks, voice deafening in the cave, "Why have you come to Mount Gulug?"

"You are asking the wrong questions, blessed summoner. There is no why – there is merely _who_."

"Then _who_ sent you here?" Amarant shouts angrily, sick of the game already.

"The little thing speaks human tongue?" Odin looks genuinely surprised. "His clan died so many ages ago, but to have integrated into human society..."

"Answer him, Odin!" Eiko calls.

"He who rules us all has disappeared, leaving those under him to fend for ourselves on the physical plane. How treacherous of him, to leave us to this land and expect results. Many of us have revolted. I have not."

"What..." Garnet shudders under Odin's sudden gaze, "What do you mean – you haven't revolted? But you-"

"Little Queen. I remember you." His great eyes narrow. "You are the reason they revolt. Leaving He who rules us all to rot. I will bring him back – he will be restored, and you will find your judgment there."

"Oh Gods," Eiko whispers, eyes wide in sudden realization, "He's... We have to stop him!"

"You wish to challenge me, blessed summoner? Me, the one true son of the Gods – of He who rules us all?" Odin's hand falls to his blade and he says, "Certainly, you may try. But you know there is only one way to destroy me – and you have already used it."

Jack looks at Eiko's ashen face and whispers, "Judgment."

Odin lifts a hand and floats, the six-legged horse big enough to hold him appearing beneath him. "I shall be the one to send you to judgment!"

He raises his hand once more and now black swirls from his palm, casting the entire room into deep shadows barely broken by the four gigantic fires. Lani swears and the mountain voice – the one not belonging to Odin – screams in Jack's head, bringing him to his knees, one pair of hands clutching his head and the other wrapped around his stomach.

"Scream all you wish!" Odin cries from the dark center, "You will not find mercy here!"

"Nobody's screaming," Amarant growls, sounding muffled to Jack, who just wants –

There's a scream from his left and he looks up – his eyes pierce through the darkness and he sees Garnet barely dodging the foremost hoofs of the horse. With a swear, he rises to unsteady feet and dashes towards her, because the voice is screaming _Save the Queen_ over and over.

"You cannot save her as you are!" Odin shouts, and Jack turns his head – _oh **Gods** he's going to kill me –_

Something explodes in his head as Amarant comes from the side and drags Jack out of the way of the blade. "You _do_ need a babysitter," the hunter says, but it's so far away – his blood throbs in his head and his limbs and he sinks to his knees, sure that the voice screaming inside him is going to tear him in two.

"Jack!" Eiko cries, her voice alone making it through the noise in his head – he looks up and she's white-hot and bright as the sun.

_Let go,_ the voice screams, _let go! **NOW.**_

He screams and he can't think of anything but _pain_ – what spell is this that's causing such –

Eiko draws back with Amarant as Jack screams and struggles against himself – even Odin has halted his movements, watching with a deeply frightening grin.

"His form deceives you all!" he laughs, drawing the reins tight for a turn towards Garnet –

A blade, too small to damage him severely, lands close to his heart and he finds Steiner now defenseless, effectively drawing his attention away from Garnet. Beatrix sees it as well and realizes suddenly what everything means.

It is dark – but no matter. She shall be deft.

"Odin!"

The Eidolon turns towards her, smiles at her wickedly, and says, "Do you challenge me, little thing?"

She readies Save the Queen in response, falling back slightly and preparing for a charge. She can't see him as well as she should be able to and his hand emits more darkness, clouding him from her gaze once more.

"It will not be over quickly," he says, and she hears the six hoofs coming towards her, quickening through the mist.

She readies her blade and dodges a hoof, flying forward and landing a blow to his side. He may be as large as a dragon but she's slain dragons. He's nothing.

His voice gains the quality she had been dreading. "_I will take my time with you_," the Eidolon growls, and she can tell she's caused him considerable pain. He comes charging through the dark and she parries his huge sword, sliding under hoofs and nearly getting cuffed by Odin's boot. He fades into the dark once more, and she knows he must be circling.

She can't hear him – can't see him. "...I am not afraid of you."

She doesn't hear the hoofs and can't see his eyes – she stands ready but it's not enough – never enough to just be_ ready_.

"Beatrix!" Steiner shrieks from in front of her and she knows now what the oracle meant. She is too cold. Even now, staring at her husband – the one man who could best her in a swordfight, even when she didn't hold back – she sees... nothing, really. A future never to come, even if she were to survive. Children she wouldn't dare have, a life she wouldn't dare lead.

The blade feels white-hot but it doesn't hurt, surprisingly. Odin sweeps her to the side like a rag doll but the thick hole in her chest barely even stings. She had figured as much – it wouldn't do to feel pain, not here.

She sees someone rise through the dark and a sudden burst of light – six arms come forward through the mist, clearing it, and grab Odin right off of his six-hoofed mount. Steiner rushes forward and grabs Beatrix even as the fog fades.

"_You will be judged,_" Eiko's voice speaks – not Eiko but close – and there's a flash of light that sweeps all the darkness away and causes the bonfires to swell. All that is left of Odin now is his steed, which bursts from the cave in flames, taking to the skies and disappearing from sight.

"Beatrix," Steiner rasps.

She smiles shakily and puts a hand to Steiner's cheek. "This - ...This is good. I missed you, Adelbert. But I have to... I'm done, now."

"I – I can't-" He looks around, as if hoping that maybe someone could turn back time, or fix her, when the wound is too great for even a healer.

She shakes her head. "I rather enjoy the idea... of dying here. It's... comforting. I... I am sorry. I was..."

Bloody coughs and nothing can come from this, not now.

She sees Garnet and says, "You... you may have... the sword," to her husband. "Save the Queen."

The six armed Man, much the size of Odin, comes forward and says, "_There is nothing to do for her. Let her go._"

Beatrix smiles once more and then closes her eyes.

"...These times will... will pass. Adelbert, go."

Steiner pulls Beatrix close, and whispers to dead ears, "I can't let you go."


	22. The Road Home

No one but Steiner knows what's happened – they don't realize it until Eiko approaches Steiner and looks up to the Man.

"I should have realized," she whispers. He looks down to her and offers a smile – frightening, yes, but more sympathetic than anything.

"_You could not have realized. He could not tell you – he did not even know._"

The group is approaching and Steiner clutches Beatrix to him tightly, hiding her from view.

"Steiner," Eiko says quietly, "You have to let go."

The knight doesn't respond and Eiko closes her eyes, allowing him his moment. They have to leave but there's nothing she can do to make him do anything.

Lani approaches, slowly, and rasps, "Steiner..."

"_Get away_!" the knight shrieks, turning his head and glaring so hatefully at the bounty huntress that she draws back in shock, "Stay away, or I will _cut you down_!"

Amarant is whispering hoarsely to Garnet, whose eyes widen as the situation sinks in.

"No," she murmurs, dropping to her knees.

They stand there in thick silence for a good long time – Eiko is surprised the Eidolon beside her isn't growing impatient at their fear and pain. Most Eidolons don't understand it.

He seems to be waiting.

A bright light flashes at the mouth of the cave and all of them, barring Steiner, turn to watch as Ramuh comes walking towards them, in the softer shape of an old mage instead of the god of thunder.

"_I thought you might come, Ramuh. What divine punishment might you have in store for me **this** millennium?_"

Ramuh looks up at the Man idly, raising an eyebrow. "Punishment, Gilgamesh? Why... This is precisely the moment you were waiting for." A smirk graces the old man's lips, "Sending your container to the summoner... Very smart."

"_You could not expect me to sit idly by while my brothers attempted to destroy what we have so long tried to maintain._"

Eiko looks up at Gilgamesh and frowns. "Summoner... You – you came to _me_?"

"My young summoner," Ramuh sighs, "Gilgamesh has been punished for prior transgressions, by being attached to a human's soul. He would have come to anyone who might have granted him freedom."

"But..." The girl suddenly realizes and – _oh **no!**_ – "What about _Jack_?"  
The two Eidolons look to each other, and Gilgamesh responds, "_He is here. Asleep, as I was for so long. He will be safe there – if I so desire, I may call upon him._"

"You will have to," Ramuh says suddenly, looking severely at the larger Eidolon, "You may have saved my master but your punishment is one that cannot be set aside."

"_Do you think I would give up my freedom so easily?_"

Eiko glares up at the Eidolon and shouts, "You've got to! Jack – he's... You need to!"

"I did not come here to decide the fate of some petty thief," Ramuh sighs. "I've come to tell you that you did not stop Odin's plans."

"What?" Amarant growls. "_What_? We've done just what you've continually asked us to, old man! How could we have fucked up?"

"What was he even _planning_?" Lani asks, frowning shakily as she glances to Steiner's form.

"You must return home," Ramuh says, looking at them all, "I have miscalculated, lizard, and therefore it is my mistake that has caused such grief to come upon you. I do not know what the full extent of the trouble will be, so I simply ask that you all return to Lindblum. I will be able to tell you more as time goes on."

"Look, old man," Amarant starts, but Garnet grabs his arm and silences him without a glance.

"Knight of Alexandria," Ramuh starts, pacing towards Steiner, "Let go of her. I shall return her to your kingdom, to be given a burial ceremony as your culture dictates."

Steiner doesn't respond, and suddenly Amarant is growling, moving from Garnet and stalking up to the knight.

He grabs the man's stump of an arm and yanks him back, throwing him away from Beatrix's body.

"Damned fucking_ idiot_!" he shrieks, "What in the blazes do you think you're doing?"

Steiner's hand reaches for Beatrix's sword, and then draws away suddenly. "Kill me, then, you filthy creature!"

Amarant moves forward and grabs Save the Queen from the ground, wielding it expertly and pointing it directly at Steiner's throat. "Are you _mad_? Do you honestly think I'm going to bother killing a pathetic whelp like you? Get a hold of yourself, Adelbert Steiner, _Captain_ of the Knights of Pluto!" He lifts the blade and points it towards Garnet, sitting behind Steiner with her blind eyes on the floor of the cave, "Do you forget that you have a duty to protect Her Majesty? Do you forget that your wife died to save that little girl over there? Stand up, you coward! I refuse to protect her for you!"

Steiner twists his head and stares at Garnet for a long moment. Eiko almost reaches out to grab Amarant's wrist but pulls back – this is... necessary.

He gets to his feet slowly, and then stumbles to his queen, falling to his knees beside her and pulling her into a tight hug; Garnet lets out a sound between a sob and a wail, crying, "_It isn't true!_"

Ramuh picks up Beatrix's body carefully, looking over his shoulder at the queen and her knight.

"I will see you all as soon as I can discern the warnings I have received. Dear summoner," he says to Eiko, "You are the only one who may do anything for Gilgamesh, be it judgment or freedom. He cannot lie to you – and for that matter, he most likely would not want to."

"_I see that for all my indiscretions against you, old man, you still trust me. Interesting facts._"

Gilgamesh smirks and Ramuh turns away, starting for the entrance once more. "And I see, Gilgamesh, that you've been with humans for too long. I will see you all again."

He is gone in a burst of light, and with him goes Beatrix. Steiner watches until the lights fade once more and then ducks his head over Garnet's, quieting her sobs as best he can.

Eiko looks up at the Eidolon beside her, and he looks down.

"_You wish for me to return the human, little summoner?_"

She nods, "You... you have to. But – does that mean you have to go away? He didn't know about you before... will he know now?"

Gilgamesh contemplates these questions for a moment, finally responding, "_I have never been separate from the human's soul. I have managed to speak to him – though no doubt he assumed he was going mad. It will be difficult to rouse him, without discussing what has transpired here; if you wish, I may reshape his memories so that he does not remember me._"

"I..." Eiko looks at the ground and realizes that she's deciding Jack's fate. It's a calm, cool realization and she's more shocked at her reaction than the actual matter at hand. "I think... I think he deserves to know. Please – don't make him forget. You two might be able to... work together? I don't know. Eidolons are..."

Gilgamesh kneels, still having to look down to the girl but not so drastically as before, and offers a grin. "_We are indeed strange creatures – no less complex than humans. You receive the best of both worlds, little summoner. Now then. You have made your choice?_"

"...Bring Jack back. Don't make him forget what he already knows. He doesn't deserve that."

"_Very well, my young master. I shall do my best._"

Amarant makes a noise from behind them, and Lani says, "Why couldn't that damned old geezer take us with him to Alexandria? We have to go all the way home by _boat_?"

"Eidolons run differently, Lani," Eiko sighs, "He moves through planes that we can't even begin to comprehend. That's why he could only..."

She looks at Steiner and Garnet, unable to finish her sentence.

"No matter. Let's get back to Esto Gaza," Amarant grunts, "Before the rat gets distressed and bails on us."

"Hold on, Amarant!" Eiko exclaims, dashing past Gilgamesh, who is now frowning in concentration, "We have to wait until Gilgamesh calls Jack."

"Why bother?" Lani snaps, "Jack is a waste of space."

"_Silence that tongue, hunter. My container is far from useless._"

Lani falls silent under the deep baritone of Gilgamesh's voice.

Amarant sighs and crosses his arms. "How long is this going to take?"

Eiko wishes she could tell him.

* * *

**_It is time you woke up, Jack._**

_ ...where..._

_ **This is the subconscious of our combined existence. I am the Eidolon Gilgamesh. Do you recognize me as your counterpoint?**_

_ ...i...cold. i don't want to go back there._

_ **Jack. You must recognize me or I will not be able to do what I wish to do. I have been existing as an appendage to your soul, and I wish to make it easier for the both of us to-**_

_ you made all that pain._

_ **...**_

_ it'll hurt, back there. 's comfy here. don't want to leave._

_ **...The young summoner. ...Eiko. She requests that you return. And I too wish for you to return. This is not your place. Jack. Wake up.**_

_ 's **cold** there! too much chaos. nothin' worth it there. don't..._

_ **Your name, as mine, has been Gilgamesh. You have changed your name to the humans, but I know you for who you were born as. Wake up, human, and I will try to help you as best I can. I do not wish to force you, as that may lead to unnecessary mental trauma, but I **_**will do it._ Eiko requests you return. She is a dead child – will you deny her last wishes on this plane?_**

_...t...the old guy's right. you've been around humans too long. blackmail is my thing... all right._

_ let me go._

* * *

Jack feels only dull pain in his shoulders as his body contorts back into his original shape, bones merging, shrinking, and twisting as Gilgamesh sinks deeper into their mind. All he feels right now is numb and _freezing_ – he's so _cold_ –

Eiko bounds forward and kneels next to Jack, who is lying on the frosted ground in the shreds of fur left from his coat. "Jack!"

He's shivering madly and she hears Amarant sigh, looking up to see him shrugging off his coat and tossing it to her.

"Let's go," he tells her as she grabs the coat and pulls it over the thief beside her, "I don't want to wait for that damned horse to show up again."

"Can't we wait – just a little longer, Amarant?" Eiko asks quietly, "This probably is the safest place to be."

Amarant swears under his breath and stalks to the entrance. "I'll be waiting."

Even as Amarant leaves the cave, Eiko knows that he won't go anywhere without them – at least, not without Garnet.

Looking at the shuddering Jack, trying to regain his internal equilibrium, and the two Alexandrians huddled together for comfort, Eiko decides that Amarant's probably going to be waiting for a long time.

* * *

The sun is just rising over the horizon by the time they begin their trek back to Esto Gaza. Garnet is still holding tightly to Steiner's good arm, blind eyes staring at the ground – Steiner is only occasionally looking up, making sure they aren't about to go over a cliff... even though it looks as though he would love to do nothing better.

Eiko leads, as she always does, the only one looking sure about anything at the moment. Even Amarant, in front of the stumbling and shuddering Jack, is casting everything about him a suspicious, wary look, as though waiting for something to leap out at them. Lani trails behind, arms crossed and eyes looking up to the slowly brightening sky, darting between fading stars and faded knights.

Jack can't hear anything in his head right now, and wonders if Gilgamesh is... even there. If he's asleep, or just watching him, or what. He's not sure what the Eidolon could do inside his head – must be boring.

The path narrows slowly around them, forcing them into a single-file line down the steep slope. Jack pulls Amarant's jacket closer around him and shivers, wondering how cold the bounty hunter must be now, wearing no fur in the light snowfall. It's _freezing_ out here... but he won't complain, won't say anything at all; no one's in the mood for chatting.

He looks up to the sky and tracks a slowly moving star, thinking about planets and destinies.

An Eidolon, huh? Boy, _that'd_ be something to tell the family.

Not that he has any family. Definitely not now.

Rock crumbles underfoot and Jack is suddenly very aware of the open air above him, as the smooth soles of his boots fail to keep hold on the icy rock path. _Gilgamesh_ is his only fleeting thought before he tilts out, over the edge of a sheer cliff.

Amarant pays only enough attention to see Jack slip and not enough to realize that Jack's momentum and the force of gravity are still more than his own sheer weight – he reaches out and grabs the thief's wrist, soft-soled boots sliding along ice and snow and _shit,_ Amarant thinks, _This was stupid._

They go over as one and Amarant tugs Jack into his arms, sliding through air; Jack squeezes his eyes shut because he knows that this is definitely all there is to it –

Amarant's back hits the soft snow at the bottom of an eighty-foot drop with a thick crack; his eye rolls for a moment as he tries to explain to himself just what happened. Jack's head has knocked so sharply against Amarant's ribcage that he's _sure_ something's broken but he can still breathe so –

Pressure builds on his body and he can't believe this is happening _now_, right this moment –

"Get off!" he shouts, shoving at the thief even as gravity presses down on them, but the Eidolon-in-disguise just grabs his shirt and glares at him defiantly, blood coming from his nose and his eyes, with gravity coming down in a force that Amarant's sure will kill them both. Heavier than ever before, he can feel the ground below cracking and can feel his broken spine bending in the most dangerous ways –

The pressure lightens, just slightly, just enough to keep him from losing his legs. Jack's eyes are milking over, pale and shaded in white, and he growls in a different voice, "_What have you done?_"

Amarant can't believe the other can even talk with all this weight – if he were to open his mouth his jaw would bite through his tongue –

The pressure slides away, like always, and Jack stares at him and asks again, "_What have you done?_"

"I-"

"Amarant!"

Jack blinks away the white film and they both turn their heads to see Eiko half-floating, half-skidding down the cliff, eyes wide with tears and hands grabbing at the air.

"Jack!"

She hits the ground running and smells like magic; with a small cry, she lands at their side and falls to her knees. "Hold on, hold on, please!"

Amarant wants to ask why she's so frightened but his jaw isn't –

Oh.

He tries to move an arm, but –

Oh.

Jack slides back and half-straddles him, holding his neck particularly tight between his upper hands.

Eiko holds her hands out and grabs Amarant's arm, cracking broken visible bone back into place under his skin – he manages a grunt, well, as best he can with his jaw broken wide open – and she starts pulling magic in to heal him.

She does the same with his jaw, causing another horrible snap, and then slides her hand under his head and he _feels_ her touching something –

White magic seeps into his brain and its fine, now; he can't feel her hand there.

She sighs and reaches out, hands sliding under the strange bend in his spine, and _snap_ he can feel his legs again, though they're numb and kind of –

Eiko finally reaches out and covers Jack's hands with her own, feeling through stretched muscles and easing them back.

"That was..."

Eiko tries not to look either man in the eyes, pulling her hands into her lap and dropping her chin to her chest, but Amarant can tell she needs to say it.

"That was the stupidest thing you've ever done in your entire life Amarant and if you ever do anything like that again-!"

He cuts her off, back cracking a little as he sits up and grabs her, pulling her into a reluctantly comforting half-hug.

"Shut up, brat."

Jack slides back towards the cliff and asks himself, _What just happened?_

Gilgamesh's voice responds, soft and almost caring, **_He has done something very foolish. You and I just saved his life. And as for you... please, try not to fall off another cliff, until this is finished?_**

Jack groans quietly and wishes he didn't have a voice in his head.

* * *

When they return to Esto Gaza, they find the high priest waiting for them at the gate, accompanied by three Burmecians – Eumol, Kal, and Kal's wife – and some dazed looking little girl in flowing robes. Something about the Burmecians makes Amarant feel angry, violent really... He holds it back because Jack keeps looking at him like he's going to explode, and he sure as hell doesn't want the damned thief to be right about anything.

"You've returned," the priest says, "Successful, if the steed's solitary departure last night is any indication."

"She heeded my warning," the girl adds, quite loftily, turning and pacing away with a creepy sort of fluid grace.

"What does she...? Oracles," Kal grumbles at the girl's retreat.

Eumol looks over them and his ears twitch backwards slightly. "Where is General Beatrix?"

Amarant is struck suddenly with the notion that Eumol can't see what's happened to his first mate.

The silence is heavy until Lani breaks it, stepping forward and looking at the Burmecian carefully, assessing the situation. "...Come on, rat. We better go secure supplies for the trip back to Lindblum."

"Lindblum – but – no!" Eumol shouts, drawing himself away from Lani's reaching hand, "No! You can't – I'm not – I demand to be told the truth! I am – I have just as much stock in this journey as you all and – and I refuse to be left behind _and_ left in the dark! _Where's General Beatrix_?"

"Eumol," Lani says again, voice low against Garnet's sudden hiccupping, "Let's go get supplies."

"Stop-"

"Damn it, rat!" Amarant snarls, "Look around and put it together, you stupid Burmecian!"

The Burmecian sailor recoils now from Amarant's tone and his ears flatten against his skull. "I... But – how – it... I don't believe..."

Lani sighs and grabs his arm. "Come _on_, rat," she says slowly, pulling him with her, away from the group. They're nearly out of sight when the Burmecian, still visibly trembling, nearly collapses, held up only by one of Lani's hands and no soothing words of comfort.

Amarant feels better, just a little, seeing someone else in pain, and that makes him feel sick. Just like when he fought with Beatrix in the Village – just like when he fought Steiner, just like when he thought that Garnet was going to –

"Amarant?"

He looks to Eiko and nods slightly, letting her lead him and Jack away from the priest, Garnet, and Steiner.

He has a feeling that they need the priest more than he does.

* * *

The priests of Esto Gaza send prayers with them when they leave. Eumol can't stand it. How dare they just _send_ prayers, and act as though that will make everything better? How dare they assume that their faith and their compassion will work for everyone – that it will fix what's happened?

The cabin is empty, save for himself, and it's giving him too much time to himself – too much time to think. No one will tell him exactly what happened up at the top of the mountain; the only thing that he's been told is that Beatrix gave her life while fighting to defend her queen. Eumol had, at first, felt something akin to loathing for Garnet, when Lani had first told him the news, but now he only feels repulsed at himself for hating her. It isn't her fault. This is how Beatrix would want it to be, he supposes. It isn't as though he knew her well, personally, but...

He is a royal guard as well, no matter where he is. He knows what it's like, to be willing to die to protect someone.

He wonders what the other Burmecians are doing, and he wonders what they'll do once this is all over. What will become of Burmecia as a kingdom? There aren't enough of them to properly constitute as a kingdom, are there? Or perhaps...

Eumol shakes his head violently, temporarily dislodging the thoughts in his head. He doesn't have time to think about these things – for now, he has to focus on sailing their ship, on getting them _home._ Back to the Mist Continent. It will be a bittersweet return, but he still can't wait for it to come.

* * *

Jack can't sleep. It's been nearly four days since they left the Lost Continent, and the Burmecian has said that it will probably take another three days before they finally reach Lindblum; Jack can't wait. He wants nothing more than to go home and put all of this behind him; he wants to go back to how it used to be.

He can feel the other presence within him and he knows that nothing will be how it used to be.

**_You should rest, Jack._** The Eidolon's voice is soft and placating, but Jack can't find it in him to follow its suggestion.

"What is it going to be like, staying like this forever?" He feels silly, talking to himself, but at least no one on the boat is going to think he's crazy. "I mean – how can I keep going, the way that I have been, with you here...?"

**_I have always been here, _**Gilgamesh responds, still in that soft tone, **_And I will always be here. It is my punishment, of sorts, and yet – it seems to have become less a penalty and more a chance at redemption. _**

"I don't care about _that,_" Jack grouses, crossing both sets of arms and looking up at the moons, "I mean about all of my... hobbies."

**_I do not care if you steal,_** the other responds mildly, sounding amused, **_and it has never been an issue for me. You are not so different from your previous incarnations, and I do not think you will be much different from future ones._**

"...What – I've always been a thief?"

That's a little depressing.

**_Yes. It has never been an issue. This is a good soul that you carry, and in the end, that is all that matters. You are not a bloodthirsty criminal – I saw to that from the moment I was attached to you, so many cycles ago._**

"Oh, yeah," Jack mutters, closing his eyes as he slumps against the ground, "Real good. Couldn't even let go in time for you to help-"

**_What happened was destined to happen. The lady general's soul has always been meant to be released in battle; she was glad to have it happen when it did._** There's a pause, and Gilgamesh adds, **_You should not blame yourself. There is only so much I may do to influence you, and once you let go of control, you become a wonderfully good avatar for me to work through._**

"Avatar." The word is foreign to Jack – he's never been much for religious stories and he's never worried much over the fate of his soul. Knowing now that he's always been like this, Jack figures there's no reason to start worrying now.

**_It has been many, many ages since I've had an avatar,_** Gilgamesh says, **_And I can only assume that it is by the little summoner's wishes alone that I am allowed to keep you now._**

"Why's that?" Jack asks, opening his eyes to look at the stars again, "Did you get put in time-out or something?"

**_...Of sorts._**

"...Great." Jack lets out a hoarse chuckle and hits his head against the wall behind him. "We're both delinquents."

The Eidolon laughs and it echoes throughout the thief's head pleasantly, causing him to laugh a bit more earnestly himself.

**_We are both... Special._**

Eiko's voice suddenly cuts through Gilgamesh's thoughts, and Jack turns to look at the little girl standing in front of him. "You're going to have to figure out a better way to talk to yourself, you know."

"Yeah," he says, reaching up to run a hand through his hair in mild embarrassment. "I know."

"I wanted to thank you. You and Gilgamesh, I mean," the girl continues blithely, grinning at him. "For helping out my big brother."

"Uh – I didn't do anything. He wouldn't have..."

**_The hunter has done something incredibly stupid,_** Gilgamesh cuts in, causing Jack to trail off. **_We prevented him from dying. If you had not fallen, it would have still happened. Tell her she is welcome._**

"...It was no big deal," Jack finally tells Eiko, who smiles and walks away.


End file.
